Blueshift Asset Management LLC Buys New Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,074 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $563,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Robinson Value Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Apple in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 249 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 5,935.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bluestem Financial Advisors LLC now owns 233,803 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 229,929 shares during the period. HBC Financial Services PLLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ramsey Quantitative Systems purchased a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $150.47 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $144.43 and its 200 day moving average is $145.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.17 and a 1 year high of $179.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.30.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last posted 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 company had revenue of $117.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.67 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.56% and a return on equity of 163.45%. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Fundamental Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $168.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. UBS Group set a $180.00 price target on Apple in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $175.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.24.

About Apple

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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.