Heritage Investors Management Corp Purchases 2,961 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Heritage Investors Management Corp increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 834,237 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,961 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 4.9% of Heritage Investors Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $108,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,995,750 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $221,753,959,000 after purchasing an additional 8,734,393 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 80,739,774 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,097,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155,915 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Apple by 13.1% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 71,060,708 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,407,910,000 after purchasing an additional 8,230,300 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,874,884 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,779,544,000 after purchasing an additional 698,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 48,826,270 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,525,555,000 after purchasing an additional 424,839 shares in the last quarter. 57.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,622 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total transaction of $7,215,515.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,569,202.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total value of $29,991,744.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Down 1.5 %

AAPL opened at $171.56 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.17 and a 1-year high of $176.39. The company has a market capitalization of $2.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. Apple had a return on equity of 165.72% and a net margin of 24.49%. The firm had revenue of $94.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 4th that permits the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Atlantic Securities increased their price objective on Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Cowen cut their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.74.

About Apple

(Get Rating)

Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.