Private Client Services LLC Purchases 8,272 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Private Client Services LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 59.9% during the 2nd quarter, bringing its total ownership to 22,080 shares valued at $4.53 million.
• Apple reported earnings of $1.57 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, with a revenue of $94.04 billion, up 9.6% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 15.78%.

Private Client Services LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 59.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,080 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 8,272 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.8% of Private Client Services LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Private Client Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $4,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded up $7.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $245.50. 163,435,991 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 47,568,860. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $266.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Phillip Securities lowered Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $242.74.

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.