Retirement Investment Advisors Inc. Invests $1.35 Million in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Retirement Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,399 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,348,000. Apple accounts for approximately 0.2% of Retirement Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 7,558,826 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted 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 valued at $1,977,582,000 after purchasing an additional 7,067,379 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 5,405,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $834,368,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 412,746 shares of company stock valued at $93,021,362 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $227.48 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $226.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.51. 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 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

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.