Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Bender Robert & Associates' Largest Position

Bender Robert & Associates raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 16.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 305,949 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 43,549 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 17.2% of Bender Robert & Associates' investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Bender Robert & Associates' holdings in Apple were worth $67,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,260,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Scotiabank downgraded Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.94.

Apple Stock Up 0.1%

Apple stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $213.88. 38,805,177 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 49,464,392. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $204.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.31, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. 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 issued 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 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm 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 posted $1.53 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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.