Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 195,717 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,727 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.2% of AIA Group Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $49,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.4% in the third quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 10,061,591 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,344,351,000 after purchasing an additional 332,081 shares during the last quarter. Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the third quarter. Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC now owns 57,981 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,515 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its position in Apple by 83.7% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 277,720 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $64,709,000 after purchasing an additional 126,522 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P raised its stake in Apple by 0.8% during the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 128,731 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $29,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Finally, Harmony Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 74,175 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $17,283,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $203.92 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $201.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Tigress Financial increased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.02.

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.