denkapparat Operations GmbH Invests $1.28 Million in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,278,000. Apple accounts for about 1.9% of denkapparat Operations GmbH's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,868,648,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Apple by 10.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 6.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after acquiring an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded up $3.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $203.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 46,477,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,154,463. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $201.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. 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 payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, DA Davidson raised 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.02.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.