Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Lessened by Pinnacle Bancorp Inc.

Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. decreased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,405 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 676 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.3% of Pinnacle Bancorp Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,999,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 5.0%

AAPL opened at $213.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.25.

Apple Company 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.