Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Boosted by True North Advisors LLC

Key Points

• True North Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 2.8% during the second quarter, now holding 111,335 shares worth approximately $22.84 million, making it the fund's third-largest holding.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Arkansas Financial Group Inc. and GenWealth Group Inc., have also raised their positions in Apple stock, reflecting strong investor interest.
• Apple's recent performance showed an earnings per share of $1.57, surpassing estimates and indicating a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.6%, with a market cap now at $3.64 trillion.

True North Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 111,335 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 2,982 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 4.4% of True North Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. True North Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $22,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GenWealth Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. GenWealth Group Inc. now owns 10,939 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,244,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 30.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,465 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,778,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC now owns 78,984 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,205,000 after acquiring an additional 7,498 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 7.7% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 473,126 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $97,071,000 after buying an additional 33,937 shares during the period. Finally, Southern Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 2.5% during the second quarter. Southern Capital Advisors LLC now owns 20,120 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,128,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $245.27 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $237.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $215.92. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, CLSA upgraded shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, October 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 43,013 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was 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. 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 sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Company 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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