Centaurus Financial Inc. Has $52.15 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 208,239 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 5,797 shares during the period. Apple makes up 3.2% of Centaurus Financial Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Centaurus Financial Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $52,147,000 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. lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $201.50. 55,014,210 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,620,890. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $202.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.22.

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

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 target price (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.86.

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.