Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Boosted by First Dallas Securities Inc.

First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 71,398 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 7.0% of First Dallas Securities Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $16,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the third quarter valued at approximately $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $236.87 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $240.82 and a 200 day moving average of $231.30. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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 return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Oppenheimer cut Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

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.