Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Caprock Group LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 451,633 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,923 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.7% of Caprock Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $113,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in 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 period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.65.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $223.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $230.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.28. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.