42,889 Shares in Apple Inc. $AAPL Acquired by Rydar Equities Inc.

Rydar Equities Inc. purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 42,889 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $8,800,000. Apple makes up approximately 7.0% of Rydar Equities Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $274.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.06 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $268.95 and its 200 day moving average is $238.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The business had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Melius lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 target price (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total value of $1,017,654.96. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.