Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Eagle Global Advisors LLC's Largest Position

Eagle Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 193.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,147,377 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 755,939 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 11.8% of Eagle Global Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Eagle Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $287,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $2.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $195.64. The stock had a trading volume of 38,432,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,632,716. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.66. 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 quarterly earnings results 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. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in 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 generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.