Beacon Financial Group Has $8.90 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Beacon Financial Group lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,211 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 9,764 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.1% of Beacon Financial Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Caliber Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,457 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,818,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. BCS Wealth Management acquired a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,234,000. WPWealth LLP increased its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. WPWealth LLP now owns 25,641 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,390,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 63,937 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,947,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $461,021,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Apple stock traded down $0.59 on Friday, hitting $169.30. The company had a trading volume of 44,717,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,363,952. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $199.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $173.04 and a 200-day moving average of $181.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies lowered Apple to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.05.

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.