Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Financial Symmetry Inc

Financial Symmetry Inc grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,796 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.9% of Financial Symmetry Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Financial Symmetry Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after buying an additional 18,067,216 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,912,466,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Apple by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 60,651,275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,677,190,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,360 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 54,702,300 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,531,834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067,587 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,146,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,369,852,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474,887 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James lifted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $226.49 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $220.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.02. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors 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.