Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,024,242 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 149,260 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 3.3% of CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,007,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Apple by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Apple by 5.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,779,231,000 after buying an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 25,285.2% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 9,628,864 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,411,260,000 after buying an additional 9,590,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after buying an additional 5,893,741 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $204.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $217.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.52. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $166.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $252.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.17.

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.