Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Boosted by Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC

Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 560.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 237,427 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 201,460 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.8% of Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC’s holdings in Apple were worth $48,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $311,157,662,000 after purchasing an additional 5,005,297 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 573,627.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $39,065,374,000 after acquiring an additional 205,656,808 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Apple by 14.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 1.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 98,099,909 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $21,790,933,000 after acquiring an additional 984,157 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $275.92 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $260.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.92. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $277.32. The company has a market cap of $4.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.87, a PEG ratio of 2.62 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $279.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 target price on Apple in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Argus set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.22.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.