Gradient Investments LLC Has $95.46 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 465,265 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,931 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.7% of Gradient Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $95,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the first quarter worth about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective 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 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.74.

Apple Stock Up 3.2%

AAPL opened at $245.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.42.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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.