Board of the Pension Protection Fund Makes New $902,000 Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,600 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $902,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $247.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $240.26 and its 200-day moving average is $233.34. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Maxim Group raised their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.88.

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.