Eastern Bank Acquires 6,830 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Eastern Bank increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 0.6%, purchasing an additional 6,830 shares, bringing its total to 1,148,191 shares valued at approximately $255 million.
• Apple reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.57, surpassing estimates, and had total revenue of $94.04 billion, representing a year-over-year growth of 9.6%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, resulting in a 0.4% dividend yield, and it has a low dividend payout ratio of 15.78%.

Eastern Bank boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,148,191 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 6,830 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 5.0% of Eastern Bank's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Eastern Bank's holdings in Apple were worth $255,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.9% during the first quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Sharpepoint LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.5% in the first quarter. Sharpepoint LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redwood Financial Network Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 8,720 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,184,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $239.69. The stock had a trading volume of 54,829,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,688,568. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $219.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.64. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.37, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $239.05.

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.