Apple Inc. $AAPL is Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.'s 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 6.8%, now holding 75,382 shares, making it the second largest position in their portfolio.
• CEO Timothy D. Cook sold nearly 130,000 shares of Apple stock, decreasing his ownership by 3.81%; other insiders also sold shares, totaling over $64 million in insider transactions within 90 days.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Apple, with an average target price of $248.29, reflecting a positive outlook despite recent adjustments from some research firms.

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,382 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 5,525 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 5.7% of Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $15,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Scott & Selber Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the second quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 114,474 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $23,487,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Genesis Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 2.2% during the second quarter. Genesis Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,458 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,120,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV boosted its stake in Apple by 3.1% during the second quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 48,804 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $10,013,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in Apple by 1.7% during the second quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 119,431 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $24,504,000 after buying an additional 1,976 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its stake in Apple by 2.1% during the second quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 406,816 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $83,466,000 after buying an additional 8,355 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $249.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $240.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Wedbush set a $310.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Melius Research set a $290.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.29.

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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