CX Institutional Raises Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 208,652 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,674 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.5% of CX Institutional’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. CX Institutional’s holdings in Apple were worth $42,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased 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 worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $254.43 on Tuesday. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $229.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.51. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.61, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for 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%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Wedbush set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.66.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.