Court Place Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Court Place Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,203 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 833 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.0% of Court Place Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Court Place Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 111 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.9 %

Apple stock opened at $218.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $231.82 and a 200 day moving average of $233.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

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.