Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc.

Key Points

• McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 27.0%, owning 38,127 shares worth approximately $7.82 million, making Apple its second-largest holding.
• Several institutional investors have also recently acquired stakes in Apple, with institutional ownership now at 67.73%.
• Apple's latest earnings report showed revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, surpassing estimates, while its dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 27.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,127 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 8,094 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 7.9% of McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $7,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, September 11th. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $242.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $7.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $245.50. The company had a trading volume of 163,435,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,568,860. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $224.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.26.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid 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 of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

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.