Apple Inc. $AAPL is Golden State Equity Partners’ 2nd Largest Position

Golden State Equity Partners raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 102,911 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.9% of Golden State Equity Partners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Apple were worth $21,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Moffett Nathanson raised Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Melius Research set a $290.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Phillip Securities cut Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.49.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock valued at $64,320,190. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $258.02 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $233.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.69.

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. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business 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 currently 15.78%.

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.