Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by ARS Investment Partners LLC

ARS Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 378,612 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 11,705 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 8.5% of ARS Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $94,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth about $288,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,473,224,000 after acquiring an additional 126,210 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Apple by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its stake in Apple by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $59,122,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $275.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.88.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $227.48 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $237.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.16. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.11, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.