Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV

Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,176 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 1.8% of Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Apple by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018,010 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Apple by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,519,244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,709 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Apple by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 38,579,495 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,605,195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696,576 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Apple by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,519,918 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,020,609,000 after purchasing an additional 287,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Apple by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,616,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,502,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018,430 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $169.02 on Thursday. 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 cap of $2.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $162.80 and a one year high of $199.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $173.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.94.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid 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 0.57%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Maxim Group assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $215.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.