Kerusso Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Kerusso Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,748 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.9% of Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% during 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 last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. raised its position in Apple by 34.3% in the 3rd 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. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.85.

Apple Stock Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $237.87 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $240.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.52. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.12, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Apple Company 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.