Unified Investment Management Increases Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Unified Investment Management raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,184 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 228 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 1.6% of Unified Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Unified Investment Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 28.3% in the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 209.2% in the first quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 8th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Melius Research set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.49.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $258.02 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $233.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.69. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 15.78%.

Apple 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.