Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by BancFirst Trust & Investment Management

BancFirst Trust & Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,048 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $33,912,466,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after acquiring an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,026,492,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 23,076.4% in the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,512,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200,345 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Apple by 158.3% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,977,582,000 after purchasing an additional 7,067,379 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $227.18 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $220.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 188,884 shares of company stock worth $38,092,387. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Apple from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.63.

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.