Prepared Retirement Institute LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Prepared Retirement Institute LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,507 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 514 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 0.8% of Prepared Retirement Institute LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Prepared Retirement Institute LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Archford Capital Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 13.9% in the second quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 101,564 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $20,838,000 after buying an additional 12,394 shares during the last quarter. Kelly Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1.7% in the second quarter. Kelly Financial Services LLC now owns 16,525 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,390,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its stake in Apple by 10.0% in the second quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 142,621 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $29,262,000 after buying an additional 13,009 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 20.4% in the second quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 105,201 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $21,584,000 after buying an additional 17,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GC Wealth Management RIA LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 106.2% in the second quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 228,720 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $46,926,000 after buying an additional 117,785 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.8%

Apple stock opened at $247.45 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $240.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Moffett Nathanson upgraded 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. BMO Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Melius Research set a $290.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock valued at $64,320,190. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.