BIP Wealth LLC Has $12.64 Million Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

BIP Wealth LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,616 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 0.8% of BIP Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. BIP Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first 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 period. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $276.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.03, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $261.05 and a 200 day moving average of $230.47. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $280.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm 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 presently 13.92%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 target price (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.