Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s 7th Largest Position

Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,082 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 4.9% of Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 8.6% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 29,751 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,266,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares in the last quarter. LPF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. LPF Advisors LLC now owns 2,355 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC raised its position in Apple by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 71,138 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,983,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 102,149 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $21,515,000 after acquiring an additional 10,874 shares during the period. Finally, Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 19,618 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,132,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $243.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $238.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 40.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. New Street Research reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Maxim Group increased their target price on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.47.

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.