PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Buys 73,000 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 48.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 223,000 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,000 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 4.9% of PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co’s holdings in Apple were worth $45,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its position in Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.4%

Apple stock opened at $276.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $261.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.47. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $280.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. HSBC set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Argus set a $325.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.22.

Apple 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.