Marietta Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Marietta Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 116,753 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,114 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 3.8% of Marietta Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Marietta Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $24,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. boosted its holdings in Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Melius Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 5th. KeyCorp reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Maxim Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.17.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $216.79 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $222.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $199.26. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

About Apple

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.