Choate Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 596,564 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 30,490 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.6% of Choate Investment Advisors' portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Choate Investment Advisors' holdings in Apple were worth $149,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Diversified Enterprises LLC increased its position in Apple by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 65,986 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,777 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 7,735,785 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,937,195,000 after purchasing an additional 543,332 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Group Corp purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,511,000. Harbour Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investment Management LLC now owns 52,896 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,246,000 after buying an additional 1,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 5,472 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,370,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.80.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Apple
Apple Stock Performance
Apple stock traded up $4.94 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $200.21. 55,838,867 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,255,357. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business's 50-day moving average is $204.64 and its 200-day moving average is $225.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Apple Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.
Apple Company 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.
Featured Articles
Before you consider Apple, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Apple wasn't on the list.
While Apple currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Thinking about investing in Meta, Roblox, or Unity? Enter your email to learn what streetwise investors need to know about the metaverse and public markets before making an investment.
Get This Free Report
