Vawter Financial Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Vawter Financial Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,380 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.5% of Vawter Financial Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Vawter Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Apple by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,146,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,369,852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474,887 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 29,515,371 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,061,296,000 after acquiring an additional 485,873 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 20,008,650 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,214,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359,409 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,993,042 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,085,427,000 after acquiring an additional 2,594,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,247,950 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,951,297,000 after acquiring an additional 415,186 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $235.00 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $225.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were 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 owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Maxim Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $203.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.27.

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.