Bell Bank Boosts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Bell Bank boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,899 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,332 shares during the period. Bell Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. TriaGen Wealth Management LLC now owns 76,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,773,000 after purchasing an additional 5,113 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 58,817 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,324,000 after buying an additional 20,438 shares in the last quarter. Holland Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Holland Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,026 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,545,000 after buying an additional 749 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC grew its position in Apple by 129.2% during the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 9,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,831,000 after buying an additional 5,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Landmark Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Landmark Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,446 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,819,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $165.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $174.24 and a 200 day moving average of $182.10. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.80 and a 52 week high of $199.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.95%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction 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 approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 quarter, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler Companies lowered Apple to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.05.

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.