Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Boosts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,978,658 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,556 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 6.0% of Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super’s holdings in Apple were worth $405,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Baker Boyer National Bank raised its position in Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,695,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Salus Financial Advisors LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Red Tortoise LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 2nd 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 period. SigFig Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 2.8% in the second 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. Finally, Shariaportfolio Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $272.41 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $277.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $255.92 and a 200 day moving average of $226.84. 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 capitalization of $4.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. HSBC set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.