New York Life Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,194,371 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 7,433 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 5.4% of New York Life Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. New York Life Investment Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $549,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock traded down $2.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $196.26. 67,172,446 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,100,768. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $210.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $228.13. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $2.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AAPL shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus upgraded Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

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.