Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 18.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 980,886 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 153,881 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.1% of Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Apple were worth $245,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in Apple by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,074,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,935,105 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Apple by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Apple by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 98,099,411 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $24,566,054,000 after purchasing an additional 3,156,680 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Apple by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 91,568,390 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $21,335,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,087 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $201.36 on Friday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $205.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.12.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

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.