Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Buys 1,319 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 462,890 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.3% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $97,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at about $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Sequent Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth $214,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $236.48 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.78, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $226.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $208.86. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $261.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.27.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the sale, 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 worth $114,786,399 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.