Maridea Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Maridea Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 23.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,691 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,610 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.0% of Maridea Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Maridea Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $258.06 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.16, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $235.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.55.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. 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 presently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 254,922 shares of company stock valued at $64,320,190. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. CLSA upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Moffett Nathanson upgraded 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. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.29.

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.