Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Takes $34.27 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 136,837 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $34,267,000. Apple comprises about 3.8% of Stonebridge Financial Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $110,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $1.95 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $196.22. The company had a trading volume of 10,618,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,637,330. The company has a market cap of $2.95 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.05, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $220.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.53. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.08 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research 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 was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $202.33 to $167.88 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Apple from $252.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $188.00 price objective (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.85.

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.