Socorro Asset Management LP Has $5.36 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Socorro Asset Management LP cut its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 23.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,988 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 7,047 shares during the quarter. Socorro Asset Management LP’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 5.3% during the third 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 period. 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 buying an additional 5,893,741 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 20,372.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 91,568,390 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $21,335,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742,087 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 58,615,053 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,657,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,112,033 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 2.4 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $227.63 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly 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%. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut Apple from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $211.84 to $200.75 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.52.

About Apple

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.