Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Has $2.11 Billion Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,009,191 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,214,546 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 6.0% of Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.07% of Apple worth $2,108,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 127.4% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,479 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,943,000 after buying an additional 42,282 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.9% during the first quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 92,150 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $15,601,000 after buying an additional 781 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 35.8% during the first quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC now owns 18,183 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,118,000 after acquiring an additional 4,793 shares during the period. Castle Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.8% in the first quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,998 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,115,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its holdings in Apple by 28.9% in the 1st quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 229,441 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $39,345,000 after acquiring an additional 51,428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $225.00 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders 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 was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 404,040 shares of company stock valued at $91,062,512 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.