Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Raised by Portfolio Design Labs LLC

Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 25.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,388 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 19,850 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 5.1% of Portfolio Design Labs LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Portfolio Design Labs LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $24,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its stake in Apple by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $59,122,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,505,000 after purchasing an additional 3,935 shares during the period. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 276,791 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $64,492,000 after purchasing an additional 6,711 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $2.52 on Friday, reaching $196.79. 51,328,536 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,870,940. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.08 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $219.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays raised 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Apple from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.85.

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.