Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is S.A. Mason LLC’s 6th Largest Position

S.A. Mason LLC grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,594 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 546 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 2.7% of S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Clean Yield Group raised its stake in shares of Apple by 12.5% in the second quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 96,584 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $20,343,000 after acquiring an additional 10,713 shares in the last quarter. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC now owns 39,688 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,359,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Shearwater Capital LLC raised its position in Apple by 61.9% in the 2nd quarter. Shearwater Capital LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 160,336 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,317,000 after buying an additional 12,086 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,000,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $421,296,000 after buying an additional 45,968 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp restated a “hold” rating and issued a $247.61 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $226.49 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $220.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.02. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.22, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.