Xcel Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Xcel Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,084 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 3.7% of Xcel Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Xcel Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Sierra Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 70.6% in the third quarter. Sierra Capital LLC now owns 113,444 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $26,432,000 after acquiring an additional 46,951 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 539,836 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $125,782,000 after purchasing an additional 3,682 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,337,633 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $311,669,000 after purchasing an additional 65,927 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,365,000. Finally, Mattern Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 109,894 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,605,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $248.05 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $254.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $234.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. KeyCorp lowered Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, New Street Research restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.78.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.