Ransom Advisory Ltd Acquires 1,896 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Ransom Advisory Ltd has increased its stake in Apple Inc. to $19.5 million, now holding 95,060 shares, which represents approximately 9.2% of its investment portfolio.
• Institutional investors currently own 67.73% of Apple's stock, with notable increases in holdings from companies like Vanguard Group and UBS AM during the recent quarters.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $1.57 per share, exceeding analyst expectations and showing a 9.6% year-over-year revenue increase, totaling $94.04 billion.

Ransom Advisory Ltd increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,060 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,896 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 9.2% of Ransom Advisory Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Ransom Advisory Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $19,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its holdings in Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AAPL traded down $1.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $254.76. The company had a trading volume of 30,536,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,417,355. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $225.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.22. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Loop Capital dropped 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $244.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related 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 approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple 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.