Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc. Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,676 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $787,000. Apple makes up approximately 0.8% of Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 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. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Raymond James raised their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler Companies reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.17.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the 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 owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $216.32 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $222.91 and a 200-day moving average of $199.00.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

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.