HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 930,782 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,865 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 12.1% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $216,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 76,662 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $19,198,000 after purchasing an additional 16,105 shares in the last quarter. Riggs Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,780,000. Rodgers Brothers Inc. raised its position in Apple by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 40,623 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $10,173,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory lifted its holdings in Apple by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 42,584 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $10,664,000 after buying an additional 6,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colrain Capital LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $1,489,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.
Apple Stock Up 0.6%
Shares of AAPL traded up $1.22 on Tuesday, hitting $202.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 52,015,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,214,415. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $200.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.92. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.
Apple announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Apple Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Scotiabank downgraded Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.86.
Check Out Our Latest Report on AAPL
About Apple
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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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