Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s 4th Largest Position

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 70.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,004,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,242,561 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 3.8% of BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $632,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 14,145.8% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558,826 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Apple by 158.3% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,977,582,000 after purchasing an additional 7,067,379 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 161.2% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,502,068,000 after purchasing an additional 5,405,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth about $834,368,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $224.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $226.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 412,746 shares of company stock valued at $93,021,362 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.51.

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.