Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Oak Thistle LLC

Oak Thistle LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 129.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,362 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 0.5% of Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Landmark Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Landmark Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,446 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,819,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Crane Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Crane Advisory LLC now owns 16,655 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,018,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Wolf Group Capital Advisors now owns 40,306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,818,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. Durante & Waters LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $1,059,000. Finally, Nvest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 33,087 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,370,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Redburn Partners cut Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued 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.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.34.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $165.00 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $174.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.80 and a 12-month high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 14.95%.

About Apple

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.