Shikiar Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 276,443 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 15.8% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $56,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salus Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the second quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. SigFig Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 2.8% during the second quarter. SigFig Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Shariaportfolio Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the second quarter. Shariaportfolio Inc. now owns 3,999 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $820,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sharpepoint LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.5% in the first quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 approximately $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of AAPL opened at $270.14 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $277.32. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $250.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.99, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Apple from $279.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.22.

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.