Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Raised by Somerset Group LLC

Somerset Group LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,650 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 5.2% of Somerset Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Somerset Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP increased its position in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Sequent Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $222.72 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.49.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.45 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were 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 approximately $5,223,062.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were 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 approximately $5,223,062.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 417,924 shares of company stock worth $94,142,399 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AAPL. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Cfra upped their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.51.

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.