Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,025 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,574 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1.3% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Verus Financial Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 16,929 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,566,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Lowery Thomas LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lowery Thomas LLC now owns 7,607 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Latitude Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,016,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $237.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $241.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.81. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price (down previously from $256.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Maxim Group raised their target price on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.05.

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.