Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s 3rd Largest Position

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 15.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,430 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 4.5% of Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Apple were worth $25,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Flagstone Financial Management increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Columbus Macro LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the first quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 17,156 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Kwmg LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.6% during the first quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 10,640 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greylin Investment Management Inc boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Greylin Investment Management Inc now owns 16,711 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,866,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, July 1st. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Cfra increased their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.29.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $217.53 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.23. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 145.35%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 179,999 shares of company stock valued at $35,964,310 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.