Brian Low Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 17,157 Apple Inc. $AAPL

Brian Low Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,157 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,520,000. Apple comprises 3.3% of Brian Low Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Baker Boyer National Bank lifted its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.9% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Red Tortoise LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the second quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. SigFig Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Shariaportfolio Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% in 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 in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. HSBC set a $220.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.22.

Apple Stock Up 0.2%

AAPL stock opened at $277.55 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $261.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.80. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $280.38. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 42.12, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its 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. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple 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.