Gateway Advisory LLC Increases Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Gateway Advisory LLC boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,355 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,423 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 2.0% of Gateway Advisory LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Gateway Advisory LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Sage Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $206,000. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, SMH Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $209,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Cfra raised their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.51.

Apple Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $224.23 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.88, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders 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 currently 16.45%.

Apple 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.