Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 38.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 657,753 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 181,067 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.5% of Empowered Funds LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $134,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 333.3% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $278.78 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $288.62. The company has a market capitalization of $4.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $266.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Argus set a $325.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $203.07 to $246.99 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.09.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the 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 directly owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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.