HM Payson & Co. Acquires 23,662 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,774,295 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 23,662 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 7.5% of HM Payson & Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. HM Payson & Co.'s holdings in Apple were worth $444,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 1.2%

Apple stock traded down $2.48 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $208.78. 45,304,005 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,954,362. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.14, 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $206.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.67. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. 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 presently 16.20%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer cut Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

About Apple

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.