Fisher Asset Management LLC Buys 674,991 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,290,044 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 674,991 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 5.9% of Fisher Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.39% of Apple worth $14,847,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 10.6% during the 3rd 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. FMR LLC increased its stake in Apple by 5.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 6.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,121,656,000 after buying an additional 5,893,741 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 91,568,390 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $21,335,435,000 after buying an additional 1,742,087 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus raised shares of Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $198.53. 36,406,804 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,072,498. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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.