Kraft Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Kraft Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 56.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,267 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 0.4% of Kraft Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Kraft Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $477,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 8.5% during the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 78,733 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,583,000 after acquiring an additional 6,139 shares in the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC grew its position in Apple by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 29,017 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,112,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979 shares during the last quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 15,316 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,226,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the second quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,121,295 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $868,027,000 after buying an additional 24,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 7.5% during the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 216,617 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $48,561,000 after buying an additional 15,101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $228.20 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $222.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $199.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly 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 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 revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $261.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. KeyCorp reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Moffett Nathanson assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.17.

Apple Company 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.