Decatur Capital Management Inc. Acquires 177 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Decatur Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 115,203 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 12.4% of Decatur Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Decatur Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $26,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $244.60 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $240.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $231.59. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given 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 payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently 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.