Rep. James Comer Purchases Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Representative James Comer (R-Kentucky) recently bought shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). In a filing disclosed on January 10th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Apple stock on January 2nd.

Representative James Comer also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Dover (NYSE:DOV) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Amphenol (NYSE:APH) on 1/2/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) on 1/2/2025.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $233.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $240.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.52. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Maxim Group upped their target price on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its position in Apple by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 29,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,266,000 after buying an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the second quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107,737 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $24,518,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 15.1% in the second quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,938 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,042,000 after acquiring an additional 3,137 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 96.9% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,894 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,424 shares during the period. Finally, Breed s Hill Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Breed s Hill Capital LLC now owns 26,540 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,590,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Representative Comer

James Comer Jr. (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District. He assumed office on November 14, 2016. His current term ends on January 3, 2025. Comer (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022. Prior to serving in Congress, Comer was the Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture from 2012 to 2016, and the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2001 to 2012. He also unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Kentucky in 2015. A writer for the Louisville Courier-Journal called Comer “instrumental in the final passage of a five-year farm bill,” noting that he served on the conference committee that produced the final version of the bill. Comer is from Tompkinsville, Ky. He acted as the director of South Central Bank for 12 years and has been the co-owner of the Comer Land and Cattle Company. He previously served as president of CFB Foods Incorporated from 2001 to 2003 and president of Comer and Polston Insurance Incorporated from 1993 to 1995.

About Apple

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.