Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s Largest Position

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 171,895 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 31,608 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 6.9% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Apple were worth $40,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 34.3% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth about $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $255.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.79.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. StockNews.com cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Apple to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.47.

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.