Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by SFE Investment Counsel

SFE Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,071 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 4.1% of SFE Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth $3,026,492,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,584,512,000 after buying an additional 9,200,345 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Apple by 158.3% during 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 buying an additional 7,067,379 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 161.2% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,502,068,000 after buying an additional 5,405,542 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis increased its position in shares of Apple by 127.7% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 4,632,987 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $794,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,598,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.3 %

AAPL stock opened at $235.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $226.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.33. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.49. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. Apple’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target 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. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. KeyCorp reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.