Apple Inc. $AAPL is Bessemer Group Inc.’s 3rd Largest Position

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,532,638 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 317,787 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 3.8% of Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Apple worth $2,366,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. now owns 156,323 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $32,073,000 after acquiring an additional 2,921 shares during the last quarter. Yukon Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Yukon Wealth Management Inc. now owns 95,700 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $19,635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its position in Apple by 7.4% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 13,219 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 5.3% during the second quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 41,086 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,430,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 617.3% during the second quarter. Curat Global LLC now owns 13,944 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,861,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Argus set a $325.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Three equities 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.22.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $278.63 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $280.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $263.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 42.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

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.