LS Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 343,711 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,659 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 11.7% of LS Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $66,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,995,750 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $221,753,959,000 after purchasing an additional 8,734,393 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc grew its position in Apple by 2.3% during the first quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 915,560,382 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $150,975,907,000 after buying an additional 20,424,207 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 116,483.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 569,554,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $74,002,245,000 after buying an additional 569,066,184 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.9% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 285,171,112 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $46,918,015,000 after buying an additional 2,421,295 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Apple by 3.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 234,017,381 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $38,589,468,000 after buying an additional 7,736,013 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.51% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $222.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 21st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.40.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 31,685 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.69, for a total transaction of $5,661,792.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,237,944.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 15,419 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.56, for a total transaction of $2,753,216.64. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,363,619.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 31,685 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.69, for a total transaction of $5,661,792.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,661 shares in the company, valued at $19,237,944.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 455,004 shares of company stock valued at $79,238,767. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Apple Trading Down 0.2 %
Shares of AAPL opened at $175.46 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.17 and a 1-year high of $198.23.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The iPhone maker reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $81.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.79 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.68% and a return on equity of 164.92%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Apple Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.13%.
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.
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