Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Rodgers & Associates LTD

Rodgers & Associates LTD raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,541 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Rodgers & Associates LTD’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP grew its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock worth $117,004,745. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Apple to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, New Street Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.78.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $248.05 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.89. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $254.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

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.