OFI Invest Asset Management Boosts Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

OFI Invest Asset Management increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,156,665 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,345 shares during the quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $237,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $268.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.74, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $277.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $252.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 224,300 shares of company stock worth $57,586,933 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Loop Capital raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $226.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, October 20th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $203.07 to $246.99 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

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.