Legend Financial Advisors Inc. Buys 3,237 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 40.6%, acquiring an additional 3,237 shares, bringing its total to 11,211 shares valued at $2.3 million.
• Apple reported strong earnings with $1.57 earnings per share and revenue of $94.04 billion, surpassing estimates for the previous quarter.
• The company's recent quarterly dividend of $0.26 represents an annualized yield of 0.4% and reflects a 15.78% payout ratio.

Legend Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 40.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 3,237 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 1.5% of Legend Financial Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Legend Financial Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $2,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $254.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.55, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $236.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $215.77. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.29.

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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