Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA

Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,820 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 3.4% of Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA’s holdings in Apple were worth $706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price target (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.88.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $238.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $239.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.