Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Purchases 2,579 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,579 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 3.5% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $47,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $223.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $241.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.77. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple 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 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. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, December 13th. Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price objective (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.14.

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.