Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC Makes New $7.31 Million Investment in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 28,724 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $7,314,000. Apple accounts for approximately 1.5% of Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Breakwater Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Breakwater Investment Management now owns 1,612 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 14.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 317,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $80,847,000 after purchasing an additional 39,743 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South boosted its position in Apple by 4.8% during the third quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 90,001 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,917,000 after purchasing an additional 4,094 shares in the last quarter. Helen Stephens Group LLC boosted its position in Apple by 1.0% during the third quarter. Helen Stephens Group LLC now owns 11,905 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,031,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 2.1% in the third quarter. McAlister Sweet & Associates Inc. now owns 38,924 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,911,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $271.84 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $288.62. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $269.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.57. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.39, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.10. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors 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 presently 13.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Argus set a $325.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.92.

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.