Wealth Advisory Team LLC Takes $238,000 Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Wealth Advisory Team LLC acquired a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,162 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake in 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 during the period. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. CLSA upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $203.07 to $246.99 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 224,300 shares of company stock worth $57,586,933. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $268.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $252.25 and its 200-day moving average is $224.71. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $277.32.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.92%.

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.