Arista Wealth Management LLC Buys 23,708 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Arista Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 193.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,995 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,708 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 2.0% of Arista Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Arista Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Francis Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 6.5% during the first quarter. Francis Financial Inc. now owns 15,902 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,727,000 after acquiring an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.0% during the first quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 155,643 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,690,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Omega Financial Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 3.1% during the first quarter. Omega Financial Group LLC now owns 7,741 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,327,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP increased its position in Apple by 3.3% during the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 98,274 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,852,000 after buying an additional 3,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 4.7% during the first quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 263,707 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $45,220,000 after buying an additional 11,730 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.51.

Apple Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $226.96 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $226.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.33, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,469,275. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 412,746 shares of company stock worth $93,021,362. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple 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.