Berkshire Bank Raises Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Berkshire Bank lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,360 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 5.2% of Berkshire Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $22,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Moffett Nathanson reissued a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Argus raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $218.27 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.08 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $231.82 and its 200 day moving average is $233.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

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, beating 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, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

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.