Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Crane Advisory LLC’s 10th Largest Position

Crane Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,579 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 3.4% of Crane Advisory LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Crane Advisory LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $19,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 252.3% during 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 purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $247.10 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $240.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.12. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. 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 has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $244.85.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company 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.