Blue Investment Partners LLC Buys 1,250 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Blue Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,821 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 18.5% of Blue Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Blue Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $44,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 6.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after buying an additional 5,893,741 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 20,372.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $219,829,700,000 after buying an additional 93,886,664 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 58,615,053 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,657,308,000 after buying an additional 1,112,033 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Apple by 5.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,160,183,000 after buying an additional 2,785,807 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 6.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 51,765,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,909,457,000 after buying an additional 3,245,281 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $228.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $241.68 and a 200-day moving average of $230.86. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.