Abel Hall LLC Makes New $3.30 Million Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Abel Hall LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,113 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,295,000. Apple comprises about 2.8% of Abel Hall LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018,010 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 14,395.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,119,470,000 after buying an additional 70,212,651 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Apple by 6.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,519,244,000 after buying an additional 2,826,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Apple by 4.6% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 38,579,495 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,605,195,000 after buying an additional 1,696,576 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $1.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $212.49. The stock had a trading volume of 70,122,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 64,600,812. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $183.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.04. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $220.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.47.

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.