Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Boosted by Noked Israel Ltd

Noked Israel Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 9,771.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 282,311 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 279,451 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 7.8% of Noked Israel Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Noked Israel Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $39,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Hofer & Associates. Inc lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hofer & Associates. Inc now owns 23,060 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,187,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 684,434 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $94,589,000 after acquiring an additional 20,166 shares in the last quarter. Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,701,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at $87,616,000. Finally, Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 9.2% in the third quarter. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp now owns 110,235 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $15,235,000 after buying an additional 9,255 shares during the period. 57.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $155.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $146.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.41. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.17 and a fifty-two week high of $179.61. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.05). Apple had a return on equity of 163.45% and a net margin of 24.56%. The company had revenue of $117.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, March 10th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Apple from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Wedbush boosted their target price on Apple from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 8th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Apple from $153.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Apple from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.24.

Apple Company 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.