Main Street Research LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 336,348 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 5,571 shares during the period. Apple makes up 5.2% of Main Street Research LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Main Street Research LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $64,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its stake in Apple by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $111,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Apple Trading Up 1.2 %
Shares of AAPL traded up $2.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $189.72. 70,357,655 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 62,040,625. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $199.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.52, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.26. The business's 50-day moving average price is $172.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.29.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Apple declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Apple Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. DZ Bank reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.11.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AAPL
About Apple
(
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.
Featured Articles
Before you consider Apple, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Apple wasn't on the list.
While Apple currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Just getting into the stock market? These 10 simple stocks can help beginning investors build long-term wealth without knowing options, technicals, or other advanced strategies.
Get This Free Report
