Castellan Group Increases Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Castellan Group lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 206.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,782 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,898 shares during the period. Castellan Group’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its position in Apple by 252.3% in the third 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 bought a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings 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 last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $244.60 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average price is $240.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.59. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $260.10. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.