Simplify Asset Management Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 997 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14,145.8% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558,826 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,067,379 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,405,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $834,368,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 412,746 shares of company stock valued at $93,021,362. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $226.96 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.33, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $226.82 and a 200-day moving average of $214.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Cfra boosted their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. KeyCorp downgraded Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, New Street Research restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.51.

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.