Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 35.1% in Q2, now holding 185,477 shares valued at approximately $38.5 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Apple, with Bank of America suggesting a target of $270 and Jefferies increasing theirs to $205.82, while the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy".
• Apple's quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share was paid on August 14th, representing an annualized yield of 0.4%, with a payout ratio of 15.78%.

Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,477 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 48,140 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.8% of Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $38,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $7.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $245.50. 163,435,991 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 47,568,860. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $224.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.42. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other 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 transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $242.74.

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.