Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Increased by Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 46.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,028 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 7,270 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 3.0% of Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the second quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. now owns 19,005 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,003,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP raised its stake in shares of Apple by 6.7% during the second quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the first quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 17,156 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the second quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. now owns 3,540 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kwmg LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the first quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 10,640 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Apple from $190.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Maxim Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $203.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.62.

Apple Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $222.77 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $223.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.23. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.23. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24.

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 firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 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 paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.