Ycg LLC Boosts Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Ycg LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 197,501 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.6% of Ycg LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Ycg LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $46,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 20,372.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $219,829,700,000 after purchasing an additional 93,886,664 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 5.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,160,183,000 after buying an additional 2,785,807 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,909,457,000 after buying an additional 3,245,281 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 3.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,619,614 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,291,583,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,759 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in Apple by 14.0% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 27,882,996 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,496,738,000 after acquiring an additional 3,416,922 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $229.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $240.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.56. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Apple to $184.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.85.

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.