Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lifted by Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 433,723 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 21,647 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.2% of Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Apple were worth $109,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.86.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $201.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.22. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $202.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.56. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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.

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