Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P's 6th Largest Position

Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,748 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 2,502 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.6% of Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P's holdings in Apple were worth $14,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 10.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 3.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $77,542,863,000 after acquiring an additional 20,483,787 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $3.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $203.92. 46,477,335 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,154,463. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $201.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.15. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson upped 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.02.

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.