Stifel Financial Corp Has $2.75 Billion Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,781,730 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,676 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 2.9% of Stifel Financial Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.08% of Apple worth $2,745,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Apple during the third quarter worth about $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $227.63 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.13, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple 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 directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 company insiders.

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.