Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by TD Asset Management Inc.

TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,504,403 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 629,536 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.1% of TD Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. TD Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Apple worth $4,633,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% during 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 buying an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Apple by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,099,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $24,566,054,000 after purchasing an additional 3,156,680 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company'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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $2.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $200.63. 55,012,072 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 58,125,285. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $201.99 and a 200-day moving average of $224.54. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Citigroup restated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.

About Apple

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.