Baring Financial LLC Buys Shares of 10,083 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Baring Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,083 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,525,000. Apple comprises about 2.3% of Baring Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased 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 acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Citigroup upped 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson set a $290.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

Apple Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $223.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $231.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.