Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Boosted by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 653,695 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,696 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $125,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 14,395.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,119,470,000 after buying an additional 70,212,651 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $560,388,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $487,435,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in Apple by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,519,244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Apple by 1.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 6.0 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $183.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $172.17 and a 200-day moving average of $181.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.26. 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 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 153.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Redburn Partners cut Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $196.00 target price (up previously from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.00.

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.