Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lifted by World Investment Advisors LLC

World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 584.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,473,015 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,111,502 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 3.2% of World Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. World Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $576,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $242.52.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $4.97 on Tuesday, reaching $232.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 53,671,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,044,813. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.20. The company has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.92, a PEG ratio of 2.32 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 return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Company 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.