Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Increased by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 702,402 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,916 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.6% of Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $147,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Apple by 5.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,160,183,000 after buying an additional 2,785,807 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,146,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,369,852,000 after buying an additional 2,474,887 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Apple by 3.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,291,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065,759 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 29,515,371 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,061,296,000 after buying an additional 485,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Apple by 13.4% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 20,008,650 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,214,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359,409 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.51.

Apple Stock Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $227.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.49. The company has a market cap of $3.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day moving average is $226.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the company’s 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 412,746 shares of company stock valued at $93,021,362 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.