Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. Acquires 4,503 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,938 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,503 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.6% of Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $26,547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Hoese & Co LLP increased its holdings in Apple by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, SMH Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $232.87 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $228.06 and a 200-day moving average of $218.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.25.

Apple 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.