Rep. Laurel M. Lee Purchases Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

by · The Markets Daily

Representative Laurel M. Lee (R-Florida) recently bought shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). In a filing disclosed on November 21st, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $15,001 and $50,000 in Apple stock on October 7th.

Representative Laurel M. Lee also recently made the following trade(s):

  • Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of GE Vernova (NYSE:GEV) on 11/8/2024.
  • Purchased $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) on 10/21/2024.
  • Purchased $50,001 – $100,000 in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) on 9/10/2024.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $1.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $229.87. The company had a trading volume of 38,168,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,855,068. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.06. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. Apple’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Melius Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Moffett Nathanson cut their target price on Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.25.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Apple

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 35.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Verus Financial Partners Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 16,929 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,566,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Financial Advisory increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the second quarter. Brown Financial Advisory now owns 1,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Representative Lee

Laurel Lee (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Florida’s 15th Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2023. Her current term ends on January 3, 2025. Lee (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Florida’s 15th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on August 20, 2024. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) appointed Lee to serve as the Florida Secretary of State on January 28, 2019, after the resignation of Michael Ertel on January 24. Lee resigned on May 16, 2022. Lee was a judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Florida from 2013 to 2019. She was appointed to the court by Gov. Rick Scott (R) in May 2013. She was elected to the position in 2014. Laurel Lee earned undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Florida. Lee’s career experience includes working as an attorney with Carlton Fields, P.A., an assistant federal public defender and assistant U.S. attorney with the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and a law clerk to James S. Moody on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Apple Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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