Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 20.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,086 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,375 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.0% of Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Liberty Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 1,993.5% during the first quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,443,279 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $542,726,000 after buying an additional 2,326,570 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. grew its position in Apple by 1.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 69,158 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $15,362,000 after buying an additional 862 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its position in Apple by 4.3% during the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 504,183 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $111,814,000 after buying an additional 21,013 shares during the period. Malaga Cove Capital LLC grew its position in Apple by 8.4% during the first quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 17,714 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,935,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. grew its position in Apple by 7.8% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 1,075,461 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $238,892,000 after buying an additional 77,977 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $239.69 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.37, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $219.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.86.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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.