BIP Alliance LLC Acquires 818 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

BIP Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,856 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 818 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 0.9% of BIP Alliance LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. BIP Alliance LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its holdings in Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.22.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $277.55 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $261.82 and a 200-day moving average of $230.80. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $280.38. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.12, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.92%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 completion of the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588 in the last three months. 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.