Bright Financial Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Bright Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,107 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 2.2% of Bright Financial Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Bright Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,922 shares of company stock valued at $64,320,190 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $254.04 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $236.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.55, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Melius Research set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.29.

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.