Aureus Asset Management LLC Has $62.07 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Aureus Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 266,409 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,788 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.1% of Aureus Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $62,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,331,000. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the second quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 15,304 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,223,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Fonville Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 12.0% in the second quarter. Fonville Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,884 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,342,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $282,764,000 after buying an additional 17,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster Group Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 1.7% during the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 147,028 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $30,967,000 after buying an additional 2,472 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $227.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.13, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $241.45 and a 200 day moving average of $230.97. 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 results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

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.