Apple Inc. $AAPL is Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s 6th Largest Position

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 26.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 752,384 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 158,269 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 1.9% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Apple were worth $190,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Overbrook Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $28,449,000 after buying an additional 38,174 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $1,178,000. Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $105,482,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Apple by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,915,172,000 after acquiring an additional 214,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Professional Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. now owns 94,277 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,630,000 after acquiring an additional 21,508 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts say the price hikes could help Apple protect margins by passing through rising component costs, and long-term bulls still view the company as financially strong. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s AI strategy remains a work in progress, with some coverage saying the company’s AI upgrade likely will not be a major near-term catalyst for the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s decision to raise Mac and iPad prices has sparked concern about weaker demand and “demand friction,” especially if consumers push back on higher-priced devices. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market weakness and a tech selloff added pressure, with Apple leading the downside among major technology names. Article Title

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $275.15 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $292.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.12. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.26 and a 1-year high of $317.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $4.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 1st. KGI Securities cut Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,875 shares of company stock worth $24,998,541. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.