Lafayette Investments Inc. Has $11.97 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Lafayette Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,335 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.4% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BG Investment Services Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. BG Investment Services Inc. now owns 7,297 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,495,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares in the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 54,332 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,147,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 25,915 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,317,000 after purchasing an additional 1,515 shares during the period. LGT Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,906 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, Triton Financial Group Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at about $10,267,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, October 27th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Three equities 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.22.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $266.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $228.42. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $277.32. The company has a market cap of $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.40, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.92%.

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.