Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3,368.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 438,471 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.3% of Allstate Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $113,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $192,700,000 after buying an additional 83,997 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,972,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,670,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,308,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the period. Finally, Berkshire Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,433,000 after buying an additional 2,360 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $203.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $201.17 and its 200-day moving average is $224.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “cautious” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Maxim Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. 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 research report on Thursday, April 24th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.02.

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.