Kidder Stephen W Has $28.53 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Kidder Stephen W raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,065 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 8.6% of Kidder Stephen W’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Kidder Stephen W’s holdings in Apple were worth $28,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,199,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,001 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,772,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the second quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 195,482 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,107,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Andina Capital Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 209.2% during the 1st quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 6,786 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after buying an additional 4,591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Melius increased their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.39.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $270.37 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $277.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $248.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.01.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at $2,168,373.35. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 259,121 shares of company stock worth $65,358,981. Company 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.