Carson Advisory Inc. Grows Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Carson Advisory Inc. increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,095 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.6% of Carson Advisory Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Carson Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in Apple by 14,145.8% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 7,558,826 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Apple by 158.3% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,977,582,000 after buying an additional 7,067,379 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 161.2% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,502,068,000 after acquiring an additional 5,405,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis grew its stake in shares of Apple by 127.7% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 4,632,987 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $794,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,598,742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.4 %

Apple stock opened at $231.41 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $226.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.99, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cfra increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Piper Sandler Companies restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Maxim Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $203.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.91.

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.