Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Argus Investors Counsel Inc.

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,279 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 3.4% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its position in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Summit Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 16,252.3% during the first quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,992,420 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 6,949,659 shares during the period. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC increased its position in Apple by 21.7% during the first quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler Companies lowered shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.34.

Apple Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $167.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $162.80 and a 52-week high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $175.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.95%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Company 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.