Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Colonial Trust Advisors

Colonial Trust Advisors raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 428,540 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 12,577 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 8.0% of Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its largest position. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Apple were worth $59,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Robinson Value Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 75.4% during the third quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 249 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP raised its holdings in Apple by 200.0% during the third quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Ramsey Quantitative Systems purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. 57.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $148.50 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.17 and a twelve month high of $179.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.21, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $144.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.85.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 13th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 10th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $165.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. BNP Paribas downgraded Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. National Bank Financial dropped their price target on Apple to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 20th. Fundamental Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Apple from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.24.

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.