CX Institutional Grows Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

CX Institutional boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 189,978 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 13,013 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 1.6% of CX Institutional's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. CX Institutional's holdings in Apple were worth $42,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 3.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Apple by 14.3% in the 4th 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 valued at $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $211.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $203.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $217.12.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $170.62 to $188.32 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company 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.

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