Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Darden Wealth Group Inc’s 2nd Largest Position

Darden Wealth Group Inc increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,706 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,892 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 7.0% of Darden Wealth Group Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Darden Wealth Group Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the second quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 46,574 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,809,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 157.1% in the 2nd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 47,854 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,079,000 after acquiring an additional 29,239 shares during the last quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 60.5% during the 2nd quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP now owns 205,466 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $43,275,000 after purchasing an additional 77,466 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.4% during the second quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 40,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,533,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 6.3% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,786,956 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,008,229,000 after purchasing an additional 284,217 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $286.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James increased their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Oppenheimer downgraded Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $211.84 to $200.75 in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.05.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $237.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $241.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.