Strategic Advocates LLC Has $7.43 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Strategic Advocates LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,222 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.2% of Strategic Advocates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Strategic Advocates LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Sharpepoint LLC increased its stake in Apple by 3.5% in the first quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its stake in Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 8,720 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.3% in the first quarter. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $245.50 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.25, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $224.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.10. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid 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 of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company 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.