Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Increased by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 217,985 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,427 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.2% of Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $45,912,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP increased its position in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Sequent Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $214,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Melius Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. New Street Research reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.27.

Apple Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $231.30 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $237.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $224.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.97, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

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.