Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lifted by Cidel Asset Management Inc.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 31.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,926 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,663 shares during the quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. MKT Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. now owns 3,925 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. 3D L Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. 3D L Capital Management LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Weik Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Weik Capital Management now owns 25,238 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,407,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Coyle Financial Counsel LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 26,125 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,572,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Atlantic Securities lifted their target price on Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total value of $708,979.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,881,483.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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. Insiders have sold 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $172.99 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.17 and a twelve month high of $176.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $166.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.40. The company has a market capitalization of $2.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.37, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $94.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 12th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.30%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Company Profile

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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.