Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 18.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 980,886 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 153,881 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.1% of Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Apple were worth $245,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,200,955 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $300,743,000 after acquiring an additional 87,314 shares during the period. Essential Planning LLC. grew its position in Apple by 3,181.0% in the fourth quarter. Essential Planning LLC. now owns 263,269 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $62,089,000 after acquiring an additional 255,245 shares in the last quarter. Westchester Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Westchester Capital Management Inc. now owns 157,194 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $39,364,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in Apple by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 42,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $10,573,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Finally, Austin Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,271 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,042,000 after acquiring an additional 2,124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer cut Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $6.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $195.27. 78,299,242 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,177,224. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $205.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.12. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is 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.