Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Boosted by Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA

Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,820 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 395 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 3.4% of Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA’s holdings in Apple were worth $706,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its position in Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Apple by 88.9% during 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 last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at about $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.88.

Apple Stock Down 1.6 %

AAPL opened at $238.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $239.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.85. The company has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

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.