Axim Planning & Wealth Grows Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Axim Planning & Wealth raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 12.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,087 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 0.3% of Axim Planning & Wealth’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Axim Planning & Wealth’s holdings in Apple were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in 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 grew 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 buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $222.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $241.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.85. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.02.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.