Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,780,297 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 623,165 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 3.6% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.12% of Apple worth $4,142,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Verus Financial Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the second 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 during the period. Lowery Thomas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the second 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $228.01 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $241.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.52.

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.