Beacon Wealthcare LLC Increases Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Beacon Wealthcare LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,304 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Apple comprises 0.5% of Beacon Wealthcare LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Beacon Wealthcare LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at about $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 14,145.8% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 7,558,826 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Apple by 158.3% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,977,582,000 after purchasing an additional 7,067,379 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 161.2% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,502,068,000 after purchasing an additional 5,405,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $834,368,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $235.06 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $228.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. KeyCorp downgraded Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 25th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.