Slocum Gordon & Co LLP Raises Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Slocum Gordon & Co LLP boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,536 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 1.3% of Slocum Gordon & Co LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP grew its stake in Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $208,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 0.6 %

Apple stock opened at $236.48 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $226.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.86.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.