Anchor Investment Management LLC Purchases 3,184 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 125,539 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,184 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.7% of Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $26,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Apple by 14,145.8% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 7,558,826 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised 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 in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 161.2% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,502,068,000 after acquiring an additional 5,405,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $834,368,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $225.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $227.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $216.61. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.01, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.49.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 404,040 shares of company stock worth $91,062,512. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.51.

Apple Company 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.