Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Has $1.79 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth $3,026,492,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC grew its position in Apple by 23,076.4% in the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,512,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200,345 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in Apple by 14,145.8% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 7,558,826 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Apple by 158.3% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,977,582,000 after buying an additional 7,067,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 161.2% in the 1st 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 last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $230.76 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $3.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.48.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue 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 fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Maxim Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.27.

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.