Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 381,377 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 25,617 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 7.0% of Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $95,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&G PLC boosted its position in Apple by 42.4% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 292,852 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $68,235,000 after purchasing an additional 87,242 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Investors Network Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Prudent Investors Network Inc. now owns 8,774 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Architects LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 7.1% in the third quarter. Wealth Architects LLC now owns 182,203 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,453,000 after acquiring an additional 12,052 shares in the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at about $5,721,000. Finally, Baugh & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 70,363 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $15,829,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Apple 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.80.

Apple Trading Up 6.2%

Shares of Apple stock traded up $12.26 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $210.79. The stock had a trading volume of 63,644,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,124,810. 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 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $227.33.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

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.