Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Has $158.12 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 631,429 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 12,453 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.9% of Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $158,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Apple by 10.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $77,542,863,000 after buying an additional 20,483,787 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Apple by 5.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after acquiring an additional 18,224,005 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in Apple by 25,285.2% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 9,628,864 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,411,260,000 after acquiring an additional 9,590,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after acquiring an additional 5,893,741 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Argus upgraded Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.88.

Apple Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Apple stock traded up $0.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $209.28. The stock had a trading volume of 38,183,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,813,393. 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 has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $215.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.31. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.11 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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. The trade was a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.