ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 287,608 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,321 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 2.7% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $60,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. now owns 19,005 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,003,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.6% in the second quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,508 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its stake in shares of 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. Stableford Capital II LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the first quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 17,156 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whitcomb & Hess Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the second quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. now owns 3,540 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.3 %

AAPL stock opened at $228.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $222.41 and its 200 day moving average is $199.99. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Cfra raised their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on Apple from $190.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Melius Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.17.

About Apple

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.