EMC Capital Management lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 60.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,327 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the quarter. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $1,890,884,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Apple by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 30,235,823 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,178,590,000 after purchasing an additional 10,471,342 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,995,750 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $221,753,959,000 after buying an additional 8,734,393 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,075,599,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.1% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 71,060,708 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,407,910,000 after purchasing an additional 8,230,300 shares in the last quarter. 57.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. 58.com reiterated a “maintains” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Apple from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. 51job restated a “maintains” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $193.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, June 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.11.
Apple Stock Up 0.2 %
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. Apple had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 165.72%. The company had revenue of $94.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.30%.
Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Activity at Apple
In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total value of $708,979.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,881,483.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.
About Apple
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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