Investors Research Corp Grows Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Investors Research Corp raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,884 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 0.9% of Investors Research Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Investors Research Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,934,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Apple from $286.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Loop Capital cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.05.

Apple Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $237.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’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 directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.