Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 206,450 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $52,395,000. Apple accounts for approximately 4.6% of Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $303.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $281.90. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.68 and a 52 week high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The company’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $276.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Apple from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.60.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: India proposed extending tax exemptions through 2041 for foreign companies supplying equipment to contract manufacturers. The policy could lower Apple’s manufacturing costs and support its strategy of shifting more iPhone production to India. India proposes extending tax breaks for contract manufacturing in a boost for Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to generate substantial free cash flow, with analysts expecting strong cash generation to continue alongside higher revenue forecasts. This supports shareholder returns and provides financial flexibility, although the stock’s valuation limits the upside case. Apple Delivers Strong Free Cash Flow, But What is the Best AAPL Play?
• Positive Sentiment: A reported deal with PlasmaSolve could help Apple develop thinner, stronger device finishes by using software simulations before factory testing, potentially improving manufacturing yields and reducing testing costs. Apple Stock Drops as PlasmaSolve Deal Targets Thinner and Stronger Devices

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.