Childress Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 309 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,559 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.2% of Childress Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Childress Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 20,372.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $219,829,700,000 after purchasing an additional 93,886,664 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14,145.8% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after buying an additional 7,558,826 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 22,870.6% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 5,590,588 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,302,607,000 after buying an additional 5,566,250 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $834,368,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,909,457,000 after acquiring an additional 3,245,281 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $252.20 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.89.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush increased their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. New Street Research restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Maxim Group increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.47.

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.