Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Position Raised by Monarch Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Monarch Capital Management raised its Apple stake by 4.6% in Q2 to 66,967 shares (an additional 2,920 shares), worth $13,740,000 and representing about 3.7% of the firm's portfolio as its second-largest position.
• Wall Street sentiment is positive — Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $282.51, and several firms recently lifted targets into the roughly $300 range.
• Insiders have been net sellers (228,052 shares sold in the past three months worth $58.6M) even as Apple reported an EPS beat ($1.85 vs. $1.74 estimate), $102.47B in revenue, and pays a $0.26 quarterly dividend (≈0.4% yield).

Monarch Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,967 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 2,920 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 3.7% of Monarch Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Monarch Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $13,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 333.3% in the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter worth $58,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Argus set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $282.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $278.28 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.28. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $288.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is 13.92%.

Apple 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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