Sei Investments Co. Buys 835,837 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,159,429 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 835,837 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.2% of Sei Investments Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,668,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Wrenne Financial Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wrenne Financial Planning LLC now owns 12,897 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,005,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Darden Wealth Group Inc boosted its holdings in Apple by 4.8% in the third quarter. Darden Wealth Group Inc now owns 41,706 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Apple by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 536,460 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $121,755,000 after purchasing an additional 76,601 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 16,884 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,934,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after buying an additional 5,893,741 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $236.00 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $241.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’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 transaction of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.52.

Apple 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.