Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Purchases 5,086 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 456,368 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,086 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 2.7% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $93,633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth $58,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $255.45 on Thursday. 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 $3.79 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $231.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

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 owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Bank of America increased their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Evercore ISI set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.51.

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.