Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Wesleyan Assurance Society’s 4th Largest Position

Wesleyan Assurance Society increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 288,700 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 21,500 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 5.3% of Wesleyan Assurance Society’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Wesleyan Assurance Society’s holdings in Apple were worth $60,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. raised its position in Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. now owns 19,005 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,003,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Altus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the second quarter. Altus Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,508 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP increased its position in shares of Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Stableford Capital II LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the first quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 17,156 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,942,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Whitcomb & Hess Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the second quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. now owns 3,540 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $227.79 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $222.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.16.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $247.61 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. New Street Research reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Melius Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.76.

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.