Clarus Wealth Advisors Invests $8.53 Million in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Clarus Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 45,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $8,530,000. Apple accounts for 5.0% of Clarus Wealth Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Apple by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 2,615,701 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $456,728,000 after acquiring an additional 435,891 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 240,628 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Markel Corp increased its holdings in Apple by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 1,206,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $210,752,000 after acquiring an additional 8,450 shares during the last quarter. Camden Capital LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Camden Capital LLC now owns 156,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $27,305,000 after acquiring an additional 13,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Island Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Island Capital LLC now owns 135,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $23,629,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $165.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.80 and a 1 year high of $199.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Maxim Group began coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies lowered Apple to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.34.

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.