Park Avenue Securities LLC Invests $108.72 Million in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 529,895 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $108,719,000. Apple accounts for approximately 1.0% of Park Avenue Securities LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,199,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,772,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 209.2% during the 1st quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $255.45 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average is $231.34 and its 200-day moving average is $214.08. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Wedbush set a $310.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Evercore ISI set a $290.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.