Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Lifted by Manhattan West Asset Management LLC

Manhattan West Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,147 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,855 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 4.4% of Manhattan West Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 44,540 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,575,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Weaver Consulting Group raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 39,715 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,646,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 53,137 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,231,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 37,607 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,240,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 180,178 shares of company stock worth $36,133,537 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $226.05 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.13. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Itau BBA Securities raised Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.29.

Apple Company 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.