Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Benin Management CORP

Benin Management CORP raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 135,944 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 7.4% of Benin Management CORP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Benin Management CORP’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 249,461 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,710,000 after buying an additional 10,955 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,020,415 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $174,705,000 after buying an additional 21,458 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 535,030 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $91,603,000 after buying an additional 26,218 shares during the period. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. now owns 39,969 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 192,355 shares of company stock worth $34,771,329. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.71.

Apple Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $220.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $193.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.26, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $220.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

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.