Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 151,324 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,614 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 0.7% of Bridgeway Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $31,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 573,627.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $39,065,374,000 after buying an additional 205,656,808 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth about $38,942,255,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Apple by 98,917.0% during the second quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,106,000 after acquiring an additional 57,898,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 20,464.8% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.1%

AAPL opened at $278.28 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.77. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $4.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. This trade represents a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $300.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $282.51.

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.