Fluent Financial LLC Raises Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Fluent Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1,052.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,193 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,444 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 3.7% of Fluent Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Fluent Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Salus Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. SigFig Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. SigFig Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. now owns 3,999 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $820,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sharpepoint LLC grew its position in Apple by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $270.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $248.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.15. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $277.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (up from $245.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.39.

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.