Financial Counselors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,416,737 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 26,192 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 4.8% of Financial Counselors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $298,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. White Wing Wealth Management increased its holdings in Apple by 2.9% during the second quarter. White Wing Wealth Management now owns 8,143 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,715,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 32,694 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,886,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 6,321,897 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,331,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031,405 shares during the period. BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $548,235,000. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in Apple by 0.7% during the second quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 217,985 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $45,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Loop Capital upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Maxim Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $203.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $186.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.27.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $233.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $237.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.04. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple’s 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.