Aldebaran Financial Inc. Has $6.24 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Aldebaran Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,643 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 8.6% of Aldebaran Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Aldebaran Financial Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth about $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 14,145.8% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after buying an additional 7,558,826 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Apple by 158.3% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,977,582,000 after acquiring an additional 7,067,379 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 161.2% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,502,068,000 after acquiring an additional 5,405,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $834,368,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $225.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.49. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.96.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. Apple’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total transaction of $13,550,347.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 404,040 shares of company stock valued at $91,062,512. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Melius Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Raymond James raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.51.

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.