Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Boosted by Broderick Brian C

Broderick Brian C boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 119,441 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,170 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 5.9% of Broderick Brian C's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Broderick Brian C's holdings in Apple were worth $29,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its stake 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 worth $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 worth $3,992,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.86.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock traded down $2.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $196.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 51,345,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,742,937. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. 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 $2.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $201.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.