Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 237,871 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 9,212 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 8.3% of Jag Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Jag Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $59,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mason Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Mason Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,048 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,765,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Dravo Bay LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Dravo Bay LLC now owns 8,854 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,217,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 134,461 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $33,672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the period. SWS Partners increased its holdings in Apple by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. SWS Partners now owns 6,022 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,197 shares during the period. Finally, Ring Mountain Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $18,640,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Apple Stock Down 0.3%
NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $212.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 49,235,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,032,102. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $207.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $227.09.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. 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. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.
Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.80.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Apple
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Apple, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Apple wasn't on the list.
While Apple currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
MarketBeat's analysts have just released their top five short plays for May 2025. Learn which stocks have the most short interest and how to trade them. Enter your email address to see which companies made the list.
Get This Free Report
