Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Has $552.77 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,694,199 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 121,204 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 6.0% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $552,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $311,157,662,000 after acquiring an additional 5,005,297 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,999,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $254.43 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $226.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $266.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.03.

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.