Apple Inc. $AAPL is NBC Securities Inc.'s 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• NBC Securities Inc. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. by 0.9% in the second quarter, now holding 134,593 shares worth approximately $27.6 million.
• Several hedge funds saw recent investment activity in Apple, with Avid Wealth Partners LLC boosting its holdings by 28.3%, indicating a diverse range of institutional interest in the stock.
• Apple's earnings report showed a significant EPS of $1.57, beating estimates, and revenue of $94.04 billion, reflecting a 9.6% year-over-year increase.

NBC Securities Inc. reduced its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 134,593 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,182 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.3% of NBC Securities Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $27,614,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first 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 last quarter. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Wedbush set a $310.00 target price on Apple and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $244.03.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL traded up $0.21 on Tuesday, hitting $256.29. 13,480,713 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,306,352. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $225.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.