Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is PFG Investments LLC’s Largest Position

PFG Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 589,355 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 6,490 shares during the period. Apple comprises 8.9% of PFG Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $137,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 289,507 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $60,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,901 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.6% during the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 583,048 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $122,802,000 after purchasing an additional 20,160 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $5,241,000. New England Research & Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 10.9% in the second quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 36,253 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,636,000 after buying an additional 3,551 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in Apple by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 289,575 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $60,990,000 after buying an additional 2,333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $258.20 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $258.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $235.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.77. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. New Street Research reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Maxim Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,309,126.60. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 508,170 shares of company stock valued at $117,004,745. 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.