Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Clayton Financial Group LLC

Clayton Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,694 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 3.0% of Clayton Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Clayton Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at about $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP grew its stake 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 bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Compass Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth about $210,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $233.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.37, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $186.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Cfra upped their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $261.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.27.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 $5,223,062.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.