Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Independent Advisor Alliance’s Largest Position

Independent Advisor Alliance decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 867,866 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 52,871 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 7.4% of Independent Advisor Alliance’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Apple were worth $202,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $236.00 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $241.68 and a 200-day moving average of $230.84. The firm has a market capitalization 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.34 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s 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 completion of 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 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.