Gradient Investments LLC Buys 24,931 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter, holding 465,265 shares, valued at approximately $95.46 million.
• Apple's most recent earnings report revealed earnings per share of $1.57, surpassing expectations and showing a revenue increase of 9.6% year-over-year, totaling $94.04 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, reflecting a 0.4% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 15.78% as of August 14th.

Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 465,265 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 24,931 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.7% of Gradient Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $95,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,199,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 28.3% during the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,772,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 209.2% during the first quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $244.03.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $256.29. The stock had a trading volume of 13,480,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,306,352. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $225.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.22. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.90, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.