Bank Hapoalim BM Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Bank Hapoalim BM bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 49,502 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $9,531,000. Apple makes up 1.2% of Bank Hapoalim BM’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the third quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $167.04 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $175.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.80 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Maxim Group assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Profile

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.