Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Holdings Increased by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPLFree Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 323,679 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,603 shares during the period. Apple comprises 4.6% of Essex Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $82,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth approximately $17,472,482,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in Apple by 890.7% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,413,990,000 after purchasing an additional 37,746,784 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 20,464.8% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after purchasing an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after purchasing an additional 26,856,752 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $315.32 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.50 and a 52-week high of $317.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.29. The company has a market capitalization of $4.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPLGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. KGI Securities lowered shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.85.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on AAPL

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

(Free Report)

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

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