Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Fortune 45 LLC

Fortune 45 LLC lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,888 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.7% of Fortune 45 LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Fortune 45 LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parker Financial LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parker Financial LLC now owns 4,543 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $881,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. MKT Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,213 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,563,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,076 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,321,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC now owns 10,949 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 58.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 31st. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Apple from $180.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $197.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 240,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.50, for a total value of $41,498,152.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,053 shares in the company, valued at $565,809,142.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 32,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.89, for a total transaction of $5,694,258.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 139,346 shares in the company, valued at $24,788,259.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 240,569 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.50, for a total value of $41,498,152.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,809,142.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 444,391 shares of company stock worth $77,370,046. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $187.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.63, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.30. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.17 and a fifty-two week high of $198.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $176.34 and a 200 day moving average of $180.42.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.07. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 13th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.69%.

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.