Cloud Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Cloud Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 230.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,569 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 35,957 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 6.5% of Cloud Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Cloud Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. grew its position in shares of Apple by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. now owns 3,552 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,772,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust lifted its position in Apple by 2.4% during the second quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,107,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 209.2% during the first quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,591 shares during the period. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 17.9% in the second quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Argus set a $325.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. Three 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.53.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $284.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $265.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.25. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side 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. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the sale, the insider directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.