Augustine Asset Management Inc. Has $26.44 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 137,306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,982 shares during the period. Apple comprises 11.7% of Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $26,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 14,395.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,119,470,000 after purchasing an additional 70,212,651 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $560,388,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $487,435,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Apple by 6.0% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $461,021,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $169.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $199.62. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $173.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.81. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 16th. Piper Sandler Companies downgraded Apple to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.05.

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.