Apple Inc. $AAPL Holdings Lifted by Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 1.7% during the second quarter, bringing their total holdings to 461,210 shares worth approximately $94.6 million.
• Multiple analysts have set optimistic price targets for Apple, with estimates ranging from $290.00 to $305.00, and a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Apple's recent quarterly earnings report showed a revenue increase of 9.6% year-over-year, with earnings of $1.57 per share surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.43.

Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 461,210 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 7,665 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 1.7% of Capital Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Capital Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $94,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 573,627.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $39,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 205,656,808 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $17,472,482,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 25,934.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $133,425,490,000 after purchasing an additional 59,835,676 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Apple by 27.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 68,190,569 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,870,795,000 after purchasing an additional 14,651,321 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley set a $298.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Evercore ISI set a $290.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.29.

Apple Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $252.29 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.86. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid 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, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other 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 value 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 259,121 shares of company stock worth $65,358,981. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Apple

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.

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