Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 145,523 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,421 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 3.5% of Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Apple by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,995,750 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $221,753,959,000 after acquiring an additional 8,734,393 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 116,483.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 569,554,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $74,002,245,000 after purchasing an additional 569,066,184 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 282,749,817 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,671,884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991,299 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 226,281,368 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $29,400,739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,827 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Apple by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 208,655,323 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $27,110,586,000 after buying an additional 25,926,552 shares in the last quarter. 57.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Apple Trading Up 2.3 %
AAPL opened at $193.97 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $177.18 and its 200-day moving average is $158.18. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.17 and a 1-year high of $194.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.93, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.29.
Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 4th that permits the company to buyback $90.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
Apple Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.30%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total transaction of $708,979.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,881,483.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total transaction of $708,979.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,881,483.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.92, for a total transaction of $32,984.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 177,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,299,192.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 251,799 shares of company stock worth $41,711,912 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Atlantic Securities increased their target price on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Apple from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apple from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $190.00 in a report on Friday, June 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.52.
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.
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