Financial Connections Group Inc. Buys 282 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,548 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Apple comprises 2.2% of Financial Connections Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Financial Connections Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,241,000 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. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its holdings in Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its position in Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $269.77 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $251.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $277.32.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Apple from $279.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. DZ Bank raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 224,300 shares of company stock valued at $57,586,933. 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.