Johnson Financial Group LLC Increases Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Johnson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,311 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 0.1% of Johnson Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Johnson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the second quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,958,000 after acquiring an additional 7,606 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,473,224,000 after acquiring an additional 126,210 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in Apple by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its position in Apple by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $59,122,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.2 %

AAPL stock opened at $242.70 on Friday. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $239.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.75. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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 paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price objective (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.64.

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.