Diversified Enterprises LLC Raises Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Diversified Enterprises LLC grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,986 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,777 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 1.6% of Diversified Enterprises LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Diversified Enterprises LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $16,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 10.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,074,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 6.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 5.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after buying an additional 18,224,005 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 25,285.2% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 9,628,864 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,411,260,000 after buying an additional 9,590,933 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.47 on Thursday, reaching $199.95. The company had a trading volume of 51,367,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,221,859. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company's fifty day moving average is $203.59 and its 200 day moving average is $225.20. 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America dropped their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple 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.