M&G PLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

M&G PLC lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 264.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 941,667 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 683,538 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.1% of M&G PLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. M&G PLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $193,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its position in Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.09.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $278.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $266.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.07. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.10. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.