Apple Inc. $AAPL is Alaethes Wealth LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Alaethes Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,823 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,065 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.8% of Alaethes Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Alaethes Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of AAPL opened at $234.07 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.52, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $221.50 and a 200 day moving average of $212.20.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm 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 was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Melius Research set a $290.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.80.

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.