Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 846,551 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 42,750 shares during the period. Apple makes up 6.1% of Metis Global Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Metis Global Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $197,246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 252.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 34.3% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple 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 directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $222.64 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $241.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.85. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp lowered Apple from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Loop Capital cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $238.02.

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.