LS Investment Advisors LLC Has $64.73 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

LS Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 315,470 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,051 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 9.5% of LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $64,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.6% during 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 raised its position in Apple by 28.3% during 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 raised its position in Apple by 0.4% during 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. Andina Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 209.2% during 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. Finally, Plum Street Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 4.0% during the first quarter. Plum Street Advisors LLC now owns 7,889 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $245.27 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $237.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.22, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Phillip Securities downgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.29.

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.