Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,158 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 862 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.6% of Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $15,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Moffett Nathanson raised Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.05.

Apple Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of AAPL opened at $239.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.86. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

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.