Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Highland Capital Management LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 390,801 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,428 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 5.6% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $97,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of Apple by 21.1% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,380,064 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $787,631,000 after purchasing an additional 588,427 shares during the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 4,168 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $971,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares during the last quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC now owns 44,787 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,435,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Trust Co of Kansas boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co of Kansas now owns 42,829 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,979,000 after buying an additional 2,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in Apple by 2.6% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 583,413 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $135,935,000 after acquiring an additional 14,969 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $223.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.52, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $231.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.43. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $290.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.65.

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.