7,597 Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Acquired by Aspiring Ventures LLC

Aspiring Ventures LLC bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 7,597 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,747,000. Apple makes up about 1.2% of Aspiring Ventures LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 20,372.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $219,829,700,000 after buying an additional 93,886,664 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Apple by 10.6% during 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 buying an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 20,483,787 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after buying an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after buying an additional 5,893,741 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $213.49 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $234.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Apple to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Four research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.22.

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.