WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,024 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,008,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 10.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $46,868,648,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,156,680 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have commented on AAPL. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. China Renaissance initiated 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. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.02.
View Our Latest Research Report on Apple
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% 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 worth $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.
Apple Price Performance
Apple stock traded up $3.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $203.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 46,477,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,154,463. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $201.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.15. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
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 dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.
Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Apple Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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