Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Herold Advisors Inc.

Herold Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 97,574 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,415 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 4.8% of Herold Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Herold Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $20,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $33,912,466,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $253,766,929,000 after buying an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,026,492,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 23,076.4% during 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 buying an additional 9,200,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Apple by 158.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 7,067,379 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $227.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $201.57. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24.

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 return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Melius Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Apple from $190.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.76.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple 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.