Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,342,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,842 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.4% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $282,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its position in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC grew its stake in Apple by 100.6% during the fourth quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 483 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 83,965 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $229.04 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $223.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.14. The company has a market cap of $3.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Melius Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.27.

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.