Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Boosted by Choate Investment Advisors

Choate Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 596,564 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 30,490 shares during the period. Apple comprises 3.6% of Choate Investment Advisors' holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Choate Investment Advisors' holdings in Apple were worth $149,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 4.0% in the third quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC now owns 20,320 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,735,000 after acquiring an additional 776 shares during the period. Tower Bridge Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the third quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 237,376 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $55,309,000 after buying an additional 1,308 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 10.1% in the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 66,396 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $15,470,000 after buying an additional 6,071 shares in the last quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 8.1% in the third quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 31,685 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,383,000 after buying an additional 2,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.9% in the third quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 3,723,104 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $876,483,000 after buying an additional 103,856 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $199.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 51,367,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,221,859. The stock has a market cap of $2.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.74, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company's 50-day moving average is $203.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Maxim Group raised their price target on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value 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 trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple 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.