Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Private Ocean LLC

Private Ocean LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 571.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 160,112 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 136,260 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.0% of Private Ocean LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Private Ocean LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $33,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $140,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Moffett Nathanson began coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.27.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $227.55 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $223.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.70. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.39, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. Apple’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.