12,536 Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Acquired by B&L Asset Management LLC

B&L Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,536 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,921,000. Apple accounts for approximately 1.8% of B&L Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price target on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.52.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $227.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $241.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple 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.