Second Line Capital LLC Has $3.93 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Second Line Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 29.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,888 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,244 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.3% of Second Line Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Second Line Capital LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 132.8% in the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,283,000 after buying an additional 18,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunpointe LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,782,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $224.53 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $220.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.13. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $237.23. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Wedbush upped their price target on Apple from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.63.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 188,884 shares of company stock worth $38,092,387. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company 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.