Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is North Star Asset Management Inc.’s Largest Position

North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 355,697 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,188 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 3.9% of North Star Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $89,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 111,858 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $28,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $1,221,000. One Wealth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $2,452,000. Range Financial Group LLC grew its position in Apple by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 7,912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 3,153 shares during the period. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Apple by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 7,982 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Trading Up 0.5%

AAPL opened at $196.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.30. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results 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. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. KeyCorp raised Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $170.62 price target (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank cut Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.86.

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.