Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Increased by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,271,752 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,117,347 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.7% of Cerity Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,688,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake 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 valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Moffett Nathanson reissued a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price target (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.52.

Apple Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $236.00 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.86. The company has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.82, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. 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 results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.