Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Raised by Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.

Key Points

• Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. has increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 2.2%, owning a total of 128,032 shares valued at approximately $26.27 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Paladin Wealth LLC and Goldstone Financial Group LLC, have also raised their holdings, reflecting a growing institutional interest in Apple, which now comprises 67.73% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts continue to set optimistic price targets for Apple, with estimates ranging from $241.00 to $290.00, suggesting strong potential for the stock's performance.

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 128,032 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,796 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.4% of Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Apple were worth $26,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Paladin Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 7.4% in the second quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 14,320 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,938,000 after acquiring an additional 983 shares during the period. Ballew Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Apple by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ballew Advisors Inc now owns 8,758 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,870,000 after buying an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in Apple by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 127,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,121,000 after buying an additional 6,925 shares in the last quarter. 21 West Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Finally, Goldstone Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 25.5% in the 2nd quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 37,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,977,000 after purchasing an additional 7,591 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Melius Research set a $290.00 price target on Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $242.74.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $245.50 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $224.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.42.

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. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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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