Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Holdings Boosted by Northstar Group Inc.

Northstar Group Inc. boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 152,963 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 4.8% of Northstar Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Northstar Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $31,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth $58,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth $99,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 259,121 shares of company stock worth $65,358,981 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.47.

Apple Stock Up 0.2%

AAPL opened at $262.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.09. 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 $265.29. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $242.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $217.74.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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.