Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC decreased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,313,992 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 26,035 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.1% of Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $1,581,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Aviva PLC grew its stake in Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 9,313,623 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,332,317,000 after purchasing an additional 328,937 shares during the period. Gladstone Capital Management LLP grew its stake in Apple by 190.3% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Capital Management LLP now owns 713,037 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $178,559,000 after purchasing an additional 467,434 shares during the period. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,439,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 40,635 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $10,176,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,116,983,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.
Apple Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $1.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $198.42. The company had a trading volume of 42,873,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,696,017. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $202.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $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. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Apple Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade 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 valued at $42,694,080 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank cut Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued 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. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.86.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AAPL
About Apple
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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.
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