Agate Pass Investment Management LLC Has $11.71 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Agate Pass Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,655 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.3% of Agate Pass Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $11,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Latitude Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $244.85.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $245.55. The company had a trading volume of 53,102,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,742,392. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $240.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.55. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.98, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.