Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s 3rd Largest Position

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,593 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 3,108 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 4.5% of Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer downgraded Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.85.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $202.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $221.65 and a 200-day moving average of $230.79. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.08 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

About Apple

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.