True North Advisors LLC Purchases 5,937 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

True North Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 106,259 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,937 shares during the period. Apple comprises 6.3% of True North Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. True North Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $26,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $209.68 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $235.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.83. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Argus upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Moffett Nathanson reissued a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.22.

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.