Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Lifted by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,740,997 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,974,256 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.9% of Acadian Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,383,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth about $58,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $280.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $265.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.58. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.58, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.10.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued 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 of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up previously from $245.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,373.35. This trade represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. 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.