Hill Investment Group Partners LLC Buys 423 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Hill Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,536 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 0.3% of Hill Investment Group Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Hill Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth about $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP raised its position in Apple by 6.7% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Sequent Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $235.00 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $237.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $225.78 and a 200 day moving average of $208.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share 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 previous year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current 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 $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $111,148,695.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. KeyCorp reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $247.61 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.27.

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.