Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Boosted by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 291,250 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 12,466 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 4.0% of Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $72,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at $288,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $60,958,000 after acquiring an additional 7,606 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in Apple by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,473,224,000 after acquiring an additional 126,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Apple by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions 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 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 in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James increased their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $290.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.88.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $247.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $240.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.34. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders 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 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

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.