Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Belmont Capital LLC

Belmont Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 48.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 459,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 149,593 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 18.3% of Belmont Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Belmont Capital LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $102,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 1.8%

Apple stock opened at $234.07 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $221.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 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 has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $240.80.

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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