Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Old Port Advisors

Old Port Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,970 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.9% of Old Port Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Old Port Advisors’ holdings in Apple were worth $10,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $219,829,700,000 after buying an additional 93,886,664 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 14,145.8% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558,826 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $244.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.83, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.41.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. 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 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price target (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.