David Kennon Inc Invests $1.25 Million in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

David Kennon Inc acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,076 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,254,000. Apple accounts for about 0.7% of David Kennon Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Robinson Value Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 75.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 249 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP raised its stake in shares of Apple by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Ramsey Quantitative Systems purchased a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Wedbush lifted their target price on Apple from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Apple from $167.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Apple in a research report on Sunday, March 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $199.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Apple from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.24.

Apple Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $150.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.17 and a 12-month high of $179.61. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.98.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $117.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.67 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 163.45% and a net margin of 24.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 16th. Investors of record on Monday, February 13th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 10th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.62%.

Apple Profile

(Get Rating)

Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.