Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 458,798 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 24,852 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 5.5% of Moors & Cabot Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Moors & Cabot Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $114,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
AAPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price target (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.80.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Apple
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.
Apple Stock Performance
Shares of Apple stock opened at $202.09 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $205.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.26. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.08, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.
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, 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 company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.
Apple Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.
Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Apple Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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