Quilter Plc Buys 71,139 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Quilter Plc increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,189,494 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 71,139 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 5.5% of Quilter Plc's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Quilter Plc's holdings in Apple were worth $264,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Apple by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 1.7%

AAPL traded up $3.95 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $233.60. 55,591,683 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,968,047. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $207.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.21.

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

Apple announced 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 repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.60.

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.