Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Lifted by Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC

Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 39,688 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.2% of Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Insights Inc. grew its position in Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Financial Insights Inc. now owns 108,099 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $20,812,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Triton Wealth Management PLLC now owns 26,244 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,787,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Sabal Trust CO grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Sabal Trust CO now owns 90,772 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $17,476,000 after acquiring an additional 14,109 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 21,838 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,204,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 83,226 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,024,000 after acquiring an additional 11,415 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $226.49 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $220.80 and a 200-day moving average of $195.02.

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Piper Sandler Companies reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Loop Capital raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “hold” rating and set a $247.61 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.30.

About Apple

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.