Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

Griffin Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 196,419 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 661 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 4.8% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $41,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,912,466,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $253,766,929,000 after buying an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,026,492,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 23,076.4% in the first quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,512,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Apple by 158.3% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,977,582,000 after acquiring an additional 7,067,379 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $227.37 on Wednesday. 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 $3.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $201.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Maxim Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $203.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $190.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Melius Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson started coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 19th. 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-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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 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 accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.