Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Makes New $8.78 Million Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 37,667 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $8,777,000. Apple accounts for 0.9% of Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scott & Selber Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the second quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 117,548 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $24,758,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its holdings in Apple by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 188,836 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $39,773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. Armbruster Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Armbruster Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,646 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 66,000 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,901,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARK & TLK Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 7,855 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $232.80 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $241.58 and its 200-day moving average is $230.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Maxim Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’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 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 $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.