Grant Street Asset Management Inc. Grows Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Grant Street Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,782 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.0% of Grant Street Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Grant Street Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $208.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $205.93 and a 200-day moving average of $226.57. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays reduced their target price on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank cut Apple to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned 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 $235.80.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.