WESCAP Management Group Inc. Buys 551 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

WESCAP Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,927 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 1.7% of WESCAP Management Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. WESCAP Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position 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. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its position in Apple by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 1.8 %

Apple stock opened at $225.91 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.39, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $227.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.69.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.22%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, 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 transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $261.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. New Street Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler Companies restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.91.

Apple 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.