Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is EFG Asset Management North America Corp.'s 2nd Largest Position

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 88,774 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 10,362 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 3.0% of EFG Asset Management North America Corp.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.'s holdings in Apple were worth $22,231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC raised its position in Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Sunday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup restated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was 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 ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Trading Down 1.1%

AAPL stock traded down $2.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $200.63. 55,012,072 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 58,125,285. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business's 50 day moving average price is $201.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.54. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. 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 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board 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.