Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Baring Financial LLC

Baring Financial LLC grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,429 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 1.6% of Baring Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Baring Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $258.02 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $233.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.69. The company has a market cap of $3.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.15, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm 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 firm earned $1.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, HSBC set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.49.

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.