Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Raised by Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,078,580 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 165,039 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 10.8% of Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $270,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $188.38 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $229.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.96.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Apple’s payout ratio 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.