BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,697 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.6% of BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Apple from $279.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $203.07 to $246.99 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. HSBC set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $271.49 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $259.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $277.32.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. The business 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 for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm’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 owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. 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.