Sprott Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sprott Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 20.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,590 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,750 shares during the period. Sprott Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $6,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth $110,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $198.92. 49,654,320 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,219,123. The company has a market cap of $2.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $211.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $228.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Maxim Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $235.80.

Apple 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.