Apple Inc. $AAPL is Trexquant Investment LP’s Largest Position

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 56.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 318,413 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 114,985 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 0.8% of Trexquant Investment LP’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Apple were worth $70,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $147,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $230.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $221.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.48. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.80.

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.