SPC Financial Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

SPC Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,013 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.2% of SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 224,300 shares of company stock valued at $57,586,933 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $325.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. CLSA raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. Melius upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.22.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $268.47 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $252.25 and a 200-day moving average of $224.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $277.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.92%.

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.