Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Heartland Bank & Trust Co

Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,108 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 7.1% of Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its position in shares of Apple by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $59,122,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,505,000 after buying an additional 3,935 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $214.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.08 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.33.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

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.