Byrne Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,302 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 4.0% of Byrne Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Byrne Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 14,395.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,119,470,000 after acquiring an additional 70,212,651 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after acquiring an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 23,076.4% during the first quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,512,000 after purchasing an additional 9,200,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,430,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,815,594,000 after purchasing an additional 5,331,439 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 6.0 %

AAPL stock traded up $10.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $183.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 163,224,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 59,692,680. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $172.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.60. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $199.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 153.25%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.93%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Maxim Group started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Apple from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 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.