Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s 10th Largest Position

Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 55,215 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.4% of Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 168.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 268 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its position in shares of Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 188,884 shares of company stock valued at $38,092,387. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Moffett Nathanson began coverage on Apple in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.63.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $227.18 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $237.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $220.53 and its 200-day moving average is $194.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 145.35%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.