Patron Partners LLC Has $9.91 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Patron Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,553 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,377 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 5.4% of Patron Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,905,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 94,347,510 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $219,829,700,000 after purchasing an additional 93,886,664 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $77,542,863,000 after buying an additional 20,483,787 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 18,224,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 6.6% during the third 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 during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $223.89 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $230.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.54, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders 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 0.45%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.52.

Apple Company 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.