Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lessened by Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,531 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 5.6% of Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $21,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $253,766,929,000 after purchasing an additional 18,067,216 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Apple by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 60,651,275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,677,190,000 after buying an additional 2,096,360 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 54,702,300 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,531,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067,587 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Apple by 7.1% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,146,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,369,852,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 29,515,371 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,061,296,000 after acquiring an additional 485,873 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Loop Capital upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “hold” rating and set a $247.61 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.27.

Apple Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $229.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

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.