Scientech Research LLC Makes New $2.40 Million Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,378 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,396,000. Apple comprises approximately 0.5% of Scientech Research LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP lifted its position in Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Moffett Nathanson started coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.51.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other 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 transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 404,040 shares of company stock valued at $91,062,512 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $225.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $226.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $215.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.03, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

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.