Diversified LLC Purchases 14,693 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Diversified LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 31.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 61,608 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,693 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.5% of Diversified LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Diversified LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Terril Brothers Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Terril Brothers Inc. now owns 152,028 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $29,270,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,738,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 28,484 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,484,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. grew its position in Apple by 95.5% during the fourth quarter. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. now owns 2,580 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 1,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 178,053 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,280,000 after acquiring an additional 8,560 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $227.52 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $222.05 and a 200-day moving average of $201.39.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Robert W. Baird raised 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. DA Davidson raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.76.

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.