Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 134,461 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 4.3% of Alley Investment Management Company LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Alley Investment Management Company LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $33,672,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 10.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,099,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $24,566,054,000 after purchasing an additional 3,156,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 91,568,390 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $21,335,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,087 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Apple Stock Down 0.3%
Shares of AAPL stock traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $212.33. The stock had a trading volume of 49,235,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,032,102. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's 50-day moving average is $207.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Apple Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.
Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer cut Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Maxim Group lifted their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $235.80.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AAPL
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
About Apple
(
Free Report)
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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