Signature Wealth Management Group Has $1.44 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Signature Wealth Management Group boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Signature Wealth Management Group’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 14,395.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,119,470,000 after purchasing an additional 70,212,651 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Apple by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after purchasing an additional 18,067,216 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC raised its position in Apple by 23,076.4% in the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,584,512,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Apple by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,430,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,815,594,000 after purchasing an additional 5,331,439 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $0.59 on Friday, hitting $169.30. 44,717,137 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,363,952. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $173.04 and a 200 day moving average of $181.83. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Piper Sandler Companies downgraded Apple to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.05.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now 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 valued at $63,653,887 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.