Apple Inc. $AAPL is Values Added Financial LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Values Added Financial LLC decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 14.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 5,174 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.0% of Values Added Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Values Added Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 127,884 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $26,238,000 after buying an additional 14,438 shares in the last quarter. Windle Wealth LLC grew its stake in Apple by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Windle Wealth LLC now owns 43,016 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,826,000 after acquiring an additional 2,239 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in Apple by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 714,491 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $146,592,000 after acquiring an additional 23,853 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its stake in Apple by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 77,968 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $15,997,000 after acquiring an additional 2,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Management Associates Inc grew its stake in Apple by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc now owns 68,796 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,115,000 after acquiring an additional 8,251 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $270.37 on Monday. 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 $4.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $277.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $248.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.34.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Wall Street Zen upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.