Matrix Trust Co Grows Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Matrix Trust Co grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,184 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 0.5% of Matrix Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Matrix Trust Co’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 127.4% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,943,000 after buying an additional 42,282 shares during the period. Lutz Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.0% during the first quarter. Lutz Financial Services LLC now owns 5,902 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. BCU Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 9.7% during the first quarter. BCU Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,627 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Etfidea LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the first quarter. Etfidea LLC now owns 15,853 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,718,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Westchester Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Westchester Capital Management Inc. now owns 175,926 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $30,168,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $234.93 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $228.71 and a 200 day moving average of $219.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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 company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut their price target on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Maxim Group raised their price objective on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two 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 price target of $235.25.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.