Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 813.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,013 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,161 shares during the period. Apple comprises 10.0% of Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its stake in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 shares were 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 approximately $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $270.37 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $248.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $4.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $277.32.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 13.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $203.07 to $246.99 in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, October 20th. HSBC set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Three equities research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.