Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 169,355 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 6,861 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.0% of Cozad Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Cozad Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $42,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 0.2%

AAPL stock traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $199.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 51,367,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,208,923. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $204.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.36.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. 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 firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is an increase 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 currently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital cut 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. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.