Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Raised by SouthState Corp

SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 340,745 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 46,906 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 5.6% of SouthState Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. SouthState Corp's holdings in Apple were worth $85,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 12th. Four 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was 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 $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% 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 valued at $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.3%

AAPL stock traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $199.40. 8,470,658 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,035,679. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $203.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.62, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share 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 purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is 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.