Tredje AP fonden Raises Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Tredje AP fonden boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,793,425 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 134,100 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 5.7% of Tredje AP fonden’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Apple were worth $588,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV increased its stake in Apple by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Searcy Financial Services Inc. ADV now owns 49,490 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 197,080 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,795,000 after purchasing an additional 4,980 shares in the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 446,017 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $76,483,000 after purchasing an additional 38,608 shares in the last quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,527 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,121,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 86,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,753,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 417,924 shares of company stock worth $94,142,399. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. KeyCorp cut Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.51.

Apple Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $223.45 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.49. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $226.98 and a 200-day moving average of $213.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

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.