Cypress Capital Group decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,307 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,438 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 6.4% of Cypress Capital Group's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Cypress Capital Group's holdings in Apple were worth $52,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 10.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,074,372,000 after buying an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 5.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,779,231,000 after buying an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,099,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $24,566,054,000 after buying an additional 3,156,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 91,568,390 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $21,335,435,000 after buying an additional 1,742,087 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush downgraded shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.80.
View Our Latest Stock Report on AAPL
Apple Trading Down 0.3%
Shares of AAPL traded down $0.60 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $212.33. 49,235,970 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,032,102. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap 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.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.
Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Apple Company Profile
(
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.
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