AdvisorNet Financial Inc Has $38.49 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 199,909 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 3.5% of AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $38,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 116,483.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 569,554,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $74,002,245,000 after acquiring an additional 569,066,184 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $21,746,940,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Apple by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 208,655,323 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $27,110,586,000 after acquiring an additional 25,926,552 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Apple by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,932,352 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,103,464,000 after acquiring an additional 17,604,799 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 154.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 23,295,770 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,729,270,000 after acquiring an additional 14,157,430 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.6 %

Apple stock opened at $167.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $162.80 and a one year high of $199.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $175.15 and its 200 day moving average is $182.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Apple from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.34.

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.