Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC Has $5.48 Million Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,692 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,080 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 3.4% of Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $247.66 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 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. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $238.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Melius Research set a $290.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Moffett Nathanson raised Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Wedbush set a $310.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.29.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.