Black Diamond Financial LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Black Diamond Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,956 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,194 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.2% of Black Diamond Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Black Diamond Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. First Business Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 10.4% in the third quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 58,144 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,548,000 after purchasing an additional 5,458 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,874,982 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $902,764,000 after purchasing an additional 274,461 shares during the last quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 25,166 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,864,000 after acquiring an additional 4,470 shares during the period. Diversified Portfolios Inc. increased its position in Apple by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Portfolios Inc. now owns 33,859 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,889,000 after acquiring an additional 8,893 shares during the period. Finally, Sycomore Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,798,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $223.83 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $241.09 and its 200 day moving average is $230.82.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued 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 dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. KeyCorp cut Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on Apple from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Apple from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.99.

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.