Essex Savings Bank Increases Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Essex Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 112,648 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 7.0% of Essex Savings Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Essex Savings Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $28,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wambolt & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 5.4% in the second quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 82,669 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $17,919,000 after buying an additional 4,228 shares during the period. Wealthgarden F.S. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,807,000. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 60,477 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Nelson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC now owns 97,003 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $20,431,000 after acquiring an additional 6,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lansing Street Advisors increased its stake in Apple by 120.2% in the second quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 13,388 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,820,000 after purchasing an additional 7,308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $237.30 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $239.85 and a 200-day moving average of $233.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.67, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reissued a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 target price (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.88.

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.