Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Capital Performance Advisors LLP

Capital Performance Advisors LLP raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,478 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 5.5% of Capital Performance Advisors LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Capital Performance Advisors LLP's holdings in Apple were worth $17,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Apple by 10.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 5.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,779,231,000 after buying an additional 18,224,005 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 25,285.2% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 9,628,864 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,411,260,000 after acquiring an additional 9,590,933 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,121,656,000 after acquiring an additional 5,893,741 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, April 14th. China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Loop Capital lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.88.

Apple Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.91 on Friday, hitting $209.28. 38,183,408 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,765,391. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $215.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $229.31. The company has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.22, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.11 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.