Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by State Street Corp

State Street Corp increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 5.5% of State Street Corp's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. State Street Corp owned approximately 3.86% of Apple worth $136,074,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $14,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $288,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $60,958,000 after purchasing an additional 7,606 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,473,224,000 after buying an additional 126,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,269,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp restated an "underweight" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $242.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Down 2.4 %

AAPL opened at $227.63 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

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.

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