Jacobi Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 100,859 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,292 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.7% of Jacobi Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Jacobi Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $22,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $234.07 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.02. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.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 company posted $1.40 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction 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. This trade 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 this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Phillip Securities cut Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.80.

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.