Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,167 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.4% of Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Granite Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,958,000 after acquiring an additional 7,606 shares during the last quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 387.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC now owns 24,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,128,000 after purchasing an additional 19,352 shares during the last quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at about $876,000. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the second quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 920,737 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $193,926,000 after purchasing an additional 8,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WT Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth about $80,057,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,309,126.60. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 404,040 shares of company stock valued at $91,062,512. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. New Street Research reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.51.

Apple Stock Down 1.4 %

Apple stock opened at $225.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.01, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $226.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.60. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.49.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

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.