Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Increased by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 905,523 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,411 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.5% of Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $185,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Verde Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the second quarter. Verde Capital Management now owns 6,838 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 67.6% in the second quarter. Kings Path Partners LLC now owns 2,480 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 9.3% in the second quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,375 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.1% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 50,239 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.5% in the second quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 37,946 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,886,000 after acquiring an additional 936 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $237.88 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.35. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.93.

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.