Essex Private Wealth Management LLC Acquires 396 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Essex Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,403 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 396 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.4% of Essex Private Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Essex Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ergawealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ergawealth Advisors Inc. now owns 31,852 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,709,000 after buying an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the second quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 485,956 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $102,376,000 after acquiring an additional 8,817 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 164.0% during the second quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd now owns 172,265 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,756,000 after acquiring an additional 107,014 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Apple by 17.7% in the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,836,538 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $597,432,000 after acquiring an additional 426,962 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Apple in the second quarter worth about $5,506,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.3 %

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

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Moffett Nathanson started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on Apple from $190.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.