Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Stevard LLC

Stevard LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,822 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 2.3% of Stevard LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Stevard LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at about $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 14,145.8% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after buying an additional 7,558,826 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Apple by 158.3% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,977,582,000 after buying an additional 7,067,379 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 161.2% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,502,068,000 after buying an additional 5,405,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $834,368,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $222.91 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $227.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.22%.

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.