BG Investment Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 19.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,297 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,177 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.9% of BG Investment Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. BG Investment Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. CLSA raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 5th. Argus set a $325.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Apple from $279.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on AAPL

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $266.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $277.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $258.74 and its 200-day moving average is $228.42.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

(Free Report)

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.

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