GM Advisory Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

GM Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,043 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 2,530 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 2.8% of GM Advisory Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. GM Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $43,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at about $140,000. Hoese & Co LLP lifted its holdings in Apple by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Sage Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $206,000. Benchmark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, SMH Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $209,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, August 19th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.51.

Apple Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $226.96. 38,309,500 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 58,991,406. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.33, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.03. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm's revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Apple's payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 412,746 shares of company stock valued at $93,021,362. Company 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.