Apple Inc. $AAPL is Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s 3rd Largest Position

Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 211,592 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 6.1% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Apple were worth $43,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Salus Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apple by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Sharpepoint LLC boosted its position in Apple by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp boosted its position in Apple by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 8,720 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,184,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC boosted its position in Apple by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $238.15 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $222.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.17. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.14, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.77.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.