Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Inspire Trust Co. N.A.

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,126 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 2.4% of Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. American Trust grew its position in Apple by 7.1% in the third quarter. American Trust now owns 77,292 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $18,009,000 after purchasing an additional 5,118 shares in the last quarter. Castellan Group boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 206.9% during the 3rd quarter. Castellan Group now owns 5,782 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,347,000 after buying an additional 3,898 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,290,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Apple by 29.8% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,091,062 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $254,217,000 after acquiring an additional 250,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth about $35,383,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 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 trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.3 %

AAPL stock opened at $244.60 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $240.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.52.

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.