IMA Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

IMA Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 900 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.9% of IMA Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. IMA Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares during the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 132.8% during the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,283,000 after purchasing an additional 18,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunpointe LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,782,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $226.21 on Wednesday. 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 $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $222.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.18.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $261.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. New Street Research reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.