NS Partners Ltd Purchases 2,495 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

NS Partners Ltd raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 581,285 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,495 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 5.7% of NS Partners Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. NS Partners Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $129,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at $58,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $147,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $239.05.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $239.69 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $219.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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