Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,790 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 337 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 4.4% of Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its stake in Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 100.6% in the fourth quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 483 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 83,965 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $216.79 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $222.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $199.26. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $237.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.17.

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.