BG Investment Services Inc. Takes Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

BG Investment Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,408 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $853,000. Apple comprises approximately 0.9% of BG Investment Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in Apple by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 8,645,346 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,164,968,000 after acquiring an additional 31,234 shares during the last quarter. Momentous Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,929,000. Florida Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 27,054 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,775,000 after purchasing an additional 5,026 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 516,330 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $129,299,000 after purchasing an additional 17,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bay Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,150,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% 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, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of AAPL traded down $2.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $200.63. 55,012,072 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 58,125,285. 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 market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.85, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The business's 50-day moving average price is $201.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.54. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally 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.