Axiom Investors LLC DE Acquires 182,654 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Axiom Investors LLC DE raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,723,822 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 182,654 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 3.2% of Axiom Investors LLC DE's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Axiom Investors LLC DE's holdings in Apple were worth $431,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in shares of Apple by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 195,717 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $49,011,000 after acquiring an additional 21,727 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 55,840 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,990,000 after acquiring an additional 3,650 shares during the last quarter. Partners in Financial Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $1,634,000. Everstar Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC now owns 3,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $966,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,670,536 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $418,336,000 after acquiring an additional 197,778 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 target price (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. 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 company insiders.

Apple Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $3.89 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $198.78. The stock had a trading volume of 60,780,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,606,411. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.55, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $200.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.77. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The company 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 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.