Derbend Asset Management Increases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Derbend Asset Management raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,133 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,720 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 5.0% of Derbend Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Derbend Asset Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Insight Advisors LLC PA grew its position in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 104,853 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $20,187,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 250,217 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $48,174,000 after buying an additional 1,321 shares during the period. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 111.9% in the 4th quarter. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE now owns 4,004 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $771,000 after buying an additional 2,114 shares during the period. Visionary Horizons LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $908,000. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC now owns 6,771 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,304,000 after buying an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $169.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $173.30 and a 200 day moving average of $181.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.80 and a twelve month high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson started coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler Companies cut Apple to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.