Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,156 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,641 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 9.2% of Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $35,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in Apple by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 3,380,064 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $787,631,000 after purchasing an additional 588,427 shares in the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,016,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Penn Davis Mcfarland Inc. now owns 185,781 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $43,287,000 after buying an additional 20,461 shares during the last quarter. Echo Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 10.2% during the third quarter. Echo Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,153 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,380,000 after acquiring an additional 2,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koss Olinger Consulting LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.5% during the third quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,197,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Apple from $252.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.85.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $202.52 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $222.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. 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 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

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.