Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Raised by Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC

Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,981 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.1% of Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $560,388,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth $487,435,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Apple by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,519,244,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826,709 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $461,021,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Apple by 1.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018,010 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Up 0.5 %

AAPL opened at $165.84 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $174.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.10. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $162.80 and a one year high of $199.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler Companies lowered shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.05.

Apple Company 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.