Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 187,160,162 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $46,868,648,000. Apple accounts for approximately 6.2% of Norges Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Norges Bank owned 1.25% of Apple as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1.2% in the third quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 67,598 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $15,750,000 after buying an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. MayTech Global Investments LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 13.0% in the third quarter. MayTech Global Investments LLC now owns 194,132 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $45,233,000 after buying an additional 22,284 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Apple by 4.0% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,039,914 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,873,300,000 after buying an additional 308,469 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 1,602,167 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $373,305,000 after purchasing an additional 8,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Apple by 15.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,080,886 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $950,846,000 after purchasing an additional 556,375 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.
Apple Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $3.29 on Friday, hitting $203.92. The company had a trading volume of 46,477,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,154,463. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $201.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.
Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Apple Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.
Insider Activity at Apple
In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Sunday, June 1st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.02.
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Apple Profile
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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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