Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Weil Company Inc.’s Largest Position

Weil Company Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,245 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 539 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 7.6% of Weil Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Weil Company Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 8.6% in the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 29,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,266,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 344,192 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $72,494,000 after buying an additional 6,793 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Apple by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 287,608 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $60,576,000 after buying an additional 7,321 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Apple by 57.1% in the second quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 118,602 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $24,980,000 after buying an additional 43,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.8% in the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 524,633 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,498,000 after acquiring an additional 14,213 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $229.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.83, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $241.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.65.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price target (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Maxim Group increased their price objective on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.