Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,532,638 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 317,787 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.8% of Bessemer Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,366,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its holdings in Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $58,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $203.07 to $246.99 in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Argus set a $325.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, October 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.22.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $278.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 42.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $280.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $263.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.