Benin Management CORP Purchases 256 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Benin Management CORP raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,628 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 8.4% of Benin Management CORP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Benin Management CORP’s holdings in Apple were worth $29,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP lifted its stake in Apple by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $206,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $24,416,137.76. This represents a 35.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Moffett Nathanson reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.78.

Apple Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $248.13 on Monday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $232.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.88. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $250.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.81, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

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.