Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Raised by Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC

Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,409,969 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares during the period. Apple comprises 7.7% of Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $353,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,868,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 3.7% during the fourth 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 lifted its position in Apple by 23,555.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Apple by 24,931.3% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 10,368,233 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,596,413,000 after acquiring an additional 10,326,812 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $196.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 45,342,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,338,522. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $202.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.22.

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

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business'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 transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.86.

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.