Jones Financial Companies Lllp Has $421.24 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 31.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,926,440 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 462,469 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Apple were worth $421,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $236.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $222.03 and a 200-day moving average of $211.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Two 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, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.80.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple 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 transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.