Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.'s Largest Position

Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 143,440 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 6,533 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 10.8% of Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $36,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. M&G PLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 42.4% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 292,852 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $68,235,000 after purchasing an additional 87,242 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Investors Network Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the third quarter. Prudent Investors Network Inc. now owns 8,774 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Architects LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 7.1% during 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 during the period. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,721,000. Finally, Baugh & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 2.7% in the third quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 70,363 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $15,829,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $2.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $212.93. 51,637,380 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,107,660. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $3.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.80, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $207.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $227.19. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid 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 yield of 0.49%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group cut their target price on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock 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 assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Apple Company Profile

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.