Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is WFA Asset Management Corp’s 9th Largest Position

WFA Asset Management Corp decreased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,161 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 547 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 4.3% of WFA Asset Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. WFA Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.0% during the third quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,595 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,401,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 9.9% during the third quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 534,795 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $124,607,000 after buying an additional 48,327 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,300 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,089,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 99.2% during the 3rd quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,050 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,309,000 after acquiring an additional 13,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 168.1% in the third quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC now owns 8,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 5,316 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.64.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $242.21 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $239.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $229.57.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.