Hilltop Holdings Inc. Buys 126,522 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 83.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 277,720 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 126,522 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.1% of Hilltop Holdings Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Hilltop Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $64,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Apple Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $4.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $236.87. The stock had a trading volume of 45,191,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,704,871. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The business's fifty day moving average price is $240.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Maxim Group increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report 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 MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $242.52.

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.