Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Boosted by LGT Capital Partners LTD.

LGT Capital Partners LTD. increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 588,840 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 10,370 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.8% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in Apple were worth $137,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 10.6% during the third quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,724 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co raised its stake in Apple by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 567,566 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $132,243,000 after acquiring an additional 7,051 shares during the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,718 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,827,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Princeton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the third quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 139,854 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $32,586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.4% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 278,784 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $64,957,000 after purchasing an additional 35,171 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $229.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $240.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.68.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released 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 net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down previously from $256.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $211.84 to $200.75 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Apple from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.05.

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.