Apple Inc. $AAPL is SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC has increased its position in Apple Inc. by 1.6%, making it the investment firm's third largest holding, valued at approximately $16.6 million as of the end of the second quarter.
• Several large investors significantly boosted their stakes in Apple, including Kingstone Capital Partners, which increased its holdings by an impressive 573,627.2%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Apple, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.29, reflecting optimistic views despite some cautionary assessments.

SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 80,939 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.1% of SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $16,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 573,627.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 205,692,660 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $39,065,374,000 after acquiring an additional 205,656,808 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter worth about $17,472,482,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 25,934.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $133,425,490,000 after acquiring an additional 59,835,676 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in Apple by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 68,190,569 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,870,795,000 after buying an additional 14,651,321 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. CLSA raised Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, October 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI set a $290.00 target price on Apple and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value 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 $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,922 shares of company stock worth $64,320,190 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $245.27 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $237.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $215.83. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.