Carnegie Investment Counsel Has $166.20 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 663,700 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 13,844 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 4.8% of Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Apple were worth $166,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew 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 valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Apple in the third quarter worth $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $241.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $239.60 and its 200 day moving average is $233.58. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley set a $275.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 target price (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was 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.

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.