Perpetual Ltd Raises Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd has increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 3.8%, owning a total of 69,638 shares valued at approximately $14.3 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Recent insider activity includes SVP Deirdre O'Brien selling 34,821 shares at an average price of $223.20, reducing her ownership by 20.30%.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Apple, with the average price target currently at $245.66, reflecting a general consensus of a "Moderate Buy".

Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,638 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 2,543 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $14,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,260,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.9% in the first quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Sharpepoint LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 3.5% in the first quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its holdings in Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 8,720 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,184,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, HSBC set a $220.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $245.66.

Apple Trading Down 0.5%

Apple stock opened at $255.46 on Monday. 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 $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $228.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.22. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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