Olstein Capital Management L.P. Raises Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 100.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,000 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 11,500 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Apple were worth $5,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its position in Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC raised its position in Apple by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in Apple by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 15,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,666,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC raised its position in Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 154,737 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $38,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $211.16. 39,713,698 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,348,025. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20. The business's 50 day moving average is $203.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.