Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Boosted by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 473,925 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,984 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.3% of Ritholtz Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $99,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the first quarter worth $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Sequent Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $231.30 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Melius Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.