Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Boosted by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,026 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,776 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 5.3% of Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $33,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Apple by 1.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018,010 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 14,395.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,119,470,000 after acquiring an additional 70,212,651 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Apple by 6.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,519,244,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826,709 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Apple by 4.6% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 38,579,495 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,605,195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,519,918 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,020,609,000 after purchasing an additional 287,329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $173.03 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 14.95%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Piper Sandler Companies downgraded Apple to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Maxim Group initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.62.

Apple Company 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.