Private Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Private Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 18.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,410 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares during the quarter. Private Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. grew its position in Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Cfra increased their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.62.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $222.50 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $198.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. Apple’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

About Apple

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.