Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Emprise Bank

Emprise Bank raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,732 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 685 shares during the period. Apple comprises 2.1% of Emprise Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Emprise Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its holdings in Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $244.03.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the business’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 value 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. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Up 4.3%

AAPL stock opened at $256.08 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $225.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. 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 15.78%.

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.