Apple Inc. $AAPL is PFG Investments LLC's Largest Position

Key Points

• PFG Investments LLC has reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by 0.6%, maintaining its status as the largest position in the firm's portfolio, representing 6.2% of its total investments, valued at approximately $105.87 million.
• Apple's stock has seen activity from various institutional investors, with First National Bank of Hutchinson increasing its holdings by 24.6% in the last quarter, while overall, institutional investors own 67.73% of Apple's shares.
• Analysts have set varied price targets for Apple's shares, with an average target of $248.29 and ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Sell," reflecting a general sense of optimism tempered by caution in the current market.

PFG Investments LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 516,017 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,306 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 6.2% of PFG Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. PFG Investments LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $105,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its holdings in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its holdings in Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 43,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $842,412,558.95. This represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 259,121 shares of company stock worth $65,358,981 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $298.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.29.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $252.29 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $241.13 and a 200 day moving average of $216.91. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.28, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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.

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