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

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 288,380 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 22,726 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 6.4% of Metis Global Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $39,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,890,884,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in Apple by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 30,235,823 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,178,590,000 after purchasing an additional 10,471,342 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Apple by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 123,534,393 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,889,649,000 after purchasing an additional 9,411,018 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Apple by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,995,750 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $221,753,959,000 after purchasing an additional 8,734,393 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its position in Apple by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 80,467,043 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,001,469,000 after purchasing an additional 8,716,964 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $153.83 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $142.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.04. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.17 and a twelve month high of $179.61. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.05). Apple had a net margin of 24.56% and a return on equity of 163.45%. The company had revenue of $117.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $121.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $153.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.94.

Apple Profile

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.