PPS&V Asset Management Consultants Inc. Has $7.23 Million Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

PPS&V Asset Management Consultants Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,213 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 4.6% of PPS&V Asset Management Consultants Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. PPS&V Asset Management Consultants Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 2.2% during the second quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 31,014 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,363,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 26.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,215 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,096,000 after acquiring an additional 2,165 shares during the last quarter. MFG Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. MFG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009 shares in the last quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 29,825 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,119,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 112.8% in the second quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 2,641 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $256.08 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $225.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.22. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Wedbush set a $310.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two equities research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $244.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other 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 value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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.