Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,540,955 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 69,698 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $385,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.5 %

Apple stock opened at $214.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.33. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.08 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid 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 0.47%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson set a $290.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.65.

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.