SPC Financial Inc. Grows Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

SPC Financial Inc. grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 10.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,254 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 5,493 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 1.2% of SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,160,183,000 after buying an additional 2,785,807 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,909,457,000 after acquiring an additional 3,245,281 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in Apple by 7.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,146,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,369,852,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474,887 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,291,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,759 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its position in Apple by 13.4% in 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $242.84 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $230.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.83. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $244.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.23.

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 firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp cut Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, November 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.68.

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.