Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Purchased by Maryland Capital Advisors Inc.

Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,920 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 5.8% of Maryland Capital Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ABLE Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Apple by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 46,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,513,000 after acquiring an additional 1,756 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Apple by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 136,853 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $28,078,000 after acquiring an additional 17,238 shares in the last quarter. Lakeshore Financial Planning Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Lakeshore Financial Planning Inc. now owns 39,099 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,022,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59,976 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,305,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 456,368 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $93,633,000 after acquiring an additional 5,086 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $257.13 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.09. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Evercore ISI set a $290.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.51.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.