Providence Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Providence Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,995 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Apple comprises 7.7% of Providence Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth about $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Sage Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter worth about $206,000. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Sequent Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $222.91 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $227.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.33. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.15. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued 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 is Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp downgraded Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Moffett Nathanson began coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. Cfra upped their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.23.

About Apple

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.