Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Boosted by WMG Financial Advisors LLC

WMG Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,613 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 2.2% of WMG Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. WMG Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth about $99,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

Apple stock opened at $270.04 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week 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 company has a market cap of $4.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.37.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Loop Capital upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Melius lifted their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.22.

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.