Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lifted by Highview Capital Management LLC DE

Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 47,229 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.8% of Highview Capital Management LLC DE’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Highview Capital Management LLC DE’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 154,389 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,433,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 3.6% during the third quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. now owns 33,941 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares during the period. RDA Financial Network raised its holdings in Apple by 54.7% during the third quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 41,817 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,159,000 after purchasing an additional 14,784 shares in the last quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd raised its holdings in Apple by 5.3% during the third quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 3,696 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 2.4% in the third quarter. BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $184.57 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $172.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.79. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $199.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.70, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Itau BBA Securities raised Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 target price (up from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.11.

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.