American National Bank Increases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

American National Bank raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,470 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,225 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 5.2% of American National Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. American National Bank’s holdings in Apple were worth $41,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. boosted its position in Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $256.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.17.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $227.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $222.10 and its 200-day moving average is $201.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.