Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Lifted by Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,178,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,202 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.7% of Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $295,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $71,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.86.

Apple Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $196.45 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $201.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.