Benin Management CORP Purchases 2,126 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Benin Management CORP grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 129,689 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 8.2% of Benin Management CORP's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Benin Management CORP's holdings in Apple were worth $28,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 25,934.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $133,425,490,000 after acquiring an additional 59,835,676 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $213.36. 34,955,836 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 53,618,682. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $203.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.14.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.