Menard Financial Group LLC Raises Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,173 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,438 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.8% of Menard Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Menard Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,160,183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785,807 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,146,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,369,852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474,887 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,291,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,759 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 29,515,371 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,061,296,000 after purchasing an additional 485,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 20,008,650 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,214,222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,359,409 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $222.91 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.64. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 145.09% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,469,275. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 417,924 shares of company stock worth $94,142,399 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.