Sutton Place Investors LLC Increases Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sutton Place Investors LLC boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 55.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,475 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,986 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.7% of Sutton Place Investors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Sutton Place Investors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headinvest LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 53,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,236,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 75,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,461,000 after purchasing an additional 10,425 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS increased its stake in shares of Apple by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 4,307,068 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $829,240,000 after purchasing an additional 279,311 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 37,178 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 3.8% during the third quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 673,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $115,284,000 after acquiring an additional 24,634 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $182.40 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $172.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.78. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $199.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Maxim Group initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.11.

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.