Capital Advantage Inc. Acquires 334 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Capital Advantage Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,262 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 2.3% of Capital Advantage Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Capital Advantage Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Apple by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after buying an additional 2,018,010 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 6.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,519,244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,709 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Apple by 4.6% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,696,576 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,519,918 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,020,609,000 after acquiring an additional 287,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 7.5% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,616,794 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,502,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018,430 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $165.84 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $162.80 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $174.24 and a 200 day moving average of $182.10. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Apple from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.05.

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.