Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Increased by ETF Portfolio Partners Inc.

ETF Portfolio Partners Inc. lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,587 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 327 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 0.7% of ETF Portfolio Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. ETF Portfolio Partners Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $33,912,466,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $253,766,929,000 after purchasing an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth $3,026,492,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 23,076.4% during the first quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,512,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200,345 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Apple by 158.3% during the first 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. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. Wedbush lifted their price target on Apple from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Moffett Nathanson began coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.62.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $222.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $222.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.