N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,515 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,220 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.6% of N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth about $3,026,492,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC raised its position in Apple by 23,076.4% in the first quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,512,000 after acquiring an additional 9,200,345 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Apple by 158.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,977,582,000 after acquiring an additional 7,067,379 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 161.2% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,502,068,000 after acquiring an additional 5,405,542 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis grew its position in shares of Apple by 127.7% during the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 4,632,987 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $794,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,598,742 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. 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 this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $235.00 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $225.78 and its 200 day moving average is $208.38. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective 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. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.