Allianz SE Invests $153.79 Million in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 610,413 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $153,790,000. Apple comprises 4.0% of Allianz SE's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $46,868,648,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Apple by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 23,555.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,272,653,000 after purchasing an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $2.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $201.45. 72,159,282 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,219,988. The company has a fifty day moving average of $201.17 and a 200 day moving average of $224.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 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. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.02.

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.