Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Acquired Rep. Laurel M. Lee

Representative Laurel M. Lee (R-Florida) recently bought shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). In a filing disclosed on November 21st, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $15,001 and $50,000 in Apple stock on October 7th.

Representative Laurel M. Lee also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) on 11/8/2024.
• Purchased $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) on 10/21/2024.
• Purchased $50,001 – $100,000 in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) on 9/10/2024.

Apple Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $229.87 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $227.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $218.06. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 35.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Granite Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 2.7% during 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 shares of Apple by 1.8% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,473,224,000 after buying an additional 126,210 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,928,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $406,099,000 after buying an additional 95,235 shares during the last quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 387.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 24,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,128,000 after acquiring an additional 19,352 shares during the period. Finally, Gentry Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $876,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.25.

About Representative Lee

Laurel Lee (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Florida’s 15th Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2023. Her current term ends on January 3, 2025. Lee (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Florida’s 15th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on August 20, 2024. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) appointed Lee to serve as the Florida Secretary of State on January 28, 2019, after the resignation of Michael Ertel on January 24. Lee resigned on May 16, 2022. Lee was a judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Florida from 2013 to 2019. She was appointed to the court by Gov. Rick Scott (R) in May 2013. She was elected to the position in 2014. Laurel Lee earned undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Florida. Lee’s career experience includes working as an attorney with Carlton Fields, P.A., an assistant federal public defender and assistant U.S. attorney with the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and a law clerk to James S. Moody on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

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.