Ground Swell Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 3,163 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,163 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $666,000. Apple makes up 0.5% of Ground Swell Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Apple by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at about $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $233.67 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.49. The company’s 50 day moving average is $227.15 and its 200 day moving average is $211.46. The company has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.34, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.91.

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.