UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Grows Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,701,274 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 50,775 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 8.5% of UniSuper Management Pty Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $1,177,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Apple by 10.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 6.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,099,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $24,566,054,000 after acquiring an additional 3,156,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 91,568,390 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $21,335,435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742,087 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $3.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $203.92. 46,477,335 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,154,463. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $201.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.15.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS 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 company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Sunday, June 1st. Raymond James reduced their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 16th. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.02.

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.