BluePath Capital Management LLC Has $3.51 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

BluePath Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,962 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.9% of BluePath Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. BluePath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price target (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. DA Davidson set a $290.00 price target on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.88.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $237.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $239.85 and a 200 day moving average of $233.42. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.67, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

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.