Sheets Smith Investment Management Makes New $2.49 Million Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sheets Smith Investment Management acquired a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 9,937 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,488,000. Apple makes up about 2.1% of Sheets Smith Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Apple by 10.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,074,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Apple by 5.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,779,231,000 after acquiring an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 6.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $77,542,863,000 after acquiring an additional 20,483,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Apple by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,099,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $24,566,054,000 after acquiring an additional 3,156,680 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Sunday. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.02.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock traded up $3.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $203.73. 10,860,620 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,945,518. The company has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $201.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.35.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.