HM Payson & Co. Grows Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• HM Payson & Co. increased its stake in Apple Inc. ($AAPL) by 0.4%, owning 1,782,169 shares worth approximately $395.87 million, making it the firm's largest holding.
• Apple's stock price recently rose by 1.3% to $227.76, with a market cap of $3.38 trillion and a notable earnings report showing $1.57 EPS, exceeding expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, reflecting a 0.5% yield, and announced a share buyback plan of $100 billion to repurchase 3.1% of its shares.

HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,782,169 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 7,874 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 6.9% of HM Payson & Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. HM Payson & Co.'s holdings in Apple were worth $395,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth $58,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.98.

Apple Stock Up 1.3%

AAPL traded up $2.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $227.76. 42,431,176 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. The company has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $212.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10.

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

Apple declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

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.