Primecap Management Co. CA Grows Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,260,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,700 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Apple were worth $526,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 93,886,664 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in Apple by 14,145.8% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558,826 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in Apple by 22,870.6% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 5,590,588 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,302,607,000 after purchasing an additional 5,566,250 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth $834,368,000. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 27,882,996 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,496,738,000 after buying an additional 3,416,922 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $239.36 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $241.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Apple from $265.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple 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.