Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Increased by Sarasin & Partners LLP

Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,804,497 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 41,062 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 6.4% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Sarasin & Partners LLP's holdings in Apple were worth $653,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 25,934.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $133,425,490,000 after acquiring an additional 59,835,676 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after purchasing an additional 20,966,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% during 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. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $4.09 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $205.17. The company had a trading volume of 91,511,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,513,950. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.83. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.96, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Three 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.39.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Company 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.