Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Cercano Management LLC

Cercano Management LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 197,395 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 21,352 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 1.3% of Cercano Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Cercano Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $49,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 worth $24,566,054,000 after buying an additional 3,156,680 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 1.4%

Apple stock traded down $2.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $195.64. The stock had a trading volume of 38,432,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,632,706. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $202.28 and a 200 day moving average of $222.66. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank lowered Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities downgraded 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.86.

About Apple

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.