3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Has $13.82 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 59,302 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,443 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 4.9% of 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter valued at $9,726,000. Vestcor Inc increased its stake in Apple by 10.1% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 375,539 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,501,000 after purchasing an additional 34,414 shares during the last quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc increased its stake in Apple by 1.4% during the third quarter. High Falls Advisors Inc now owns 55,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,927,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Conway Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter valued at $36,824,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV increased its stake in Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 207,656 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $48,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $236.87 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $240.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $231.30.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.