Fisher Funds Management LTD Acquires New Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 371,983 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $93,105,000. Apple comprises about 2.2% of Fisher Funds Management LTD's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Oppenheimer cut Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Maxim Group upped their price target on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $232.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $212.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.11 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $213.66 and a 200 day moving average of $228.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.73, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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