Kitching Partners LLC Purchases New Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Kitching Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,393 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000. Apple makes up 0.4% of Kitching Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% during 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. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,779,231,000 after acquiring an additional 18,224,005 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 14,145.8% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 7,558,826 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.6% in the third 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. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 22,870.6% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 5,590,588 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,302,607,000 after purchasing an additional 5,566,250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price target (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $233.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $241.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.02, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

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.