Once Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Once Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 211.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 197,850 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 134,400 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 9.9% of Once Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Once Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $46,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $229.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $241.01 and its 200-day moving average is $230.65.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. New Street Research reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.85.

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.