Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Boosted by Princeton Global Asset Management LLC

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 58,784 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 2.8% of Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 20,372.7% in the third 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 buying an additional 93,886,664 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,074,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,893,741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.9 %

Apple stock opened at $222.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.26, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.08 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $230.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.42.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.52.

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.