Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Buys 34,978 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 143,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 34,978 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 1.8% of Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $29,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 firm’s 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AAPL opened at $255.46 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $228.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $290.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued 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 $245.66.

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.