Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P Buys 1,120 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,075 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 3.6% of Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Gardner Lewis Asset Management L P’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth about $3,026,492,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in Apple by 14,145.8% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 7,612,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 7,558,826 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Apple by 158.3% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,532,438 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,977,582,000 after purchasing an additional 7,067,379 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 161.2% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,759,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,502,068,000 after buying an additional 5,405,542 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $834,368,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $222.72 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $237.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 417,924 shares of company stock worth $94,142,399 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.51.

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.