Metis Global Partners LLC Acquires 25,865 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 872,416 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 25,865 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 6.6% of Metis Global Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Metis Global Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $218,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded up $0.57 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $211.36. The stock had a trading volume of 18,833,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,980,102. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $207.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.19. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.55, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 stock was 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 directly 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 a total of 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $235.80.

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.