Centaurus Financial Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 198,136 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,004 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.8% of Centaurus Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $41,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Apple by 127.4% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,943,000 after purchasing an additional 42,282 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the first quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 92,150 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $15,601,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC now owns 18,183 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,118,000 after purchasing an additional 4,793 shares in the last quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.8% during the first quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,998 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,115,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its stake in shares of Apple by 28.9% in the first quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 229,441 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $39,345,000 after acquiring an additional 51,428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $225.00 on Monday. 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 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $227.04 and its 200 day moving average is $216.61. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,148,695.84. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 404,040 shares of company stock valued at $91,062,512. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.51.

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.