Horan Securities Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Horan Securities Inc. increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,093 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.1% of Horan Securities Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Horan Securities Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc lifted its stake in Apple by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc now owns 915,560,382 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $150,975,907,000 after purchasing an additional 20,424,207 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 116,483.5% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 569,066,184 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 285,171,112 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $46,918,015,000 after purchasing an additional 2,421,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Apple by 3.4% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 7,736,013 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $222.00 to $216.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, November 1st. Credit Suisse Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 31,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $19,237,944.09. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 69,785 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.00, for a total transaction of $12,351,945.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $86,697,609. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 31,685 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.69, for a total value of $5,661,792.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,661 shares in the company, valued at $19,237,944.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 439,585 shares of company stock valued at $76,485,550. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $181.82 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $176.74 and its 200-day moving average is $179.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.30. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.17 and a twelve month high of $198.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $89.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.34 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.78% and a net margin of 25.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.