AMI Asset Management Corp Purchases 1,517 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

AMI Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 556,466 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,517 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 5.9% of AMI Asset Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $107,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 116,483.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 569,554,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $74,002,245,000 after purchasing an additional 569,066,184 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,746,940,000. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 208,655,323 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $27,110,586,000 after purchasing an additional 25,926,552 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 60.0% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,932,352 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,103,464,000 after purchasing an additional 17,604,799 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 154.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 23,295,770 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,729,270,000 after purchasing an additional 14,157,430 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $168.00 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $162.80 and a twelve month high of $199.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.59 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $175.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.21.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Maxim Group started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.34.

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.