Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Increased by Donaldson Capital Management LLC

Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 550,887 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,278 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.9% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $94,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Apple by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after buying an additional 18,067,216 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,010 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 14,395.4% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Apple by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 60,651,275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,677,190,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,360 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Redburn Partners cut shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.05.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related 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 value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $169.30. The stock had a trading volume of 44,717,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,363,952. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $199.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $173.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.79.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

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.