Congress Asset Management Co. MA Has $265.56 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,379,317 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 2.1% of Congress Asset Management Co. MA’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Congress Asset Management Co. MA’s holdings in Apple were worth $265,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. grew its stake in Apple by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $196.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $216.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.47.

Apple Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $212.49 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $220.20. The company has a market cap of $3.26 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.