Financial Counselors Inc. Purchases 26,192 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,416,737 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,192 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 4.8% of Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $298,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP raised its holdings in Apple by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $208,000. Sequent Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $214,000. Finally, Financial Life Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $212,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value 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 approximately $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $233.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $224.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.04. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $261.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.27.

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.