Legendary Value Investor Joel Greenblatt’s 5 Dividend Stock Picks

2. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Gotham Asset Management’s Stake Value: $52,395,000

Dividend Yield as of March 25: 0.50%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 134

Joel Greenblatt boosted his Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stake by 12% in Q4 2021, holding 295,067 shares worth $52.3 million, representing 1.69% of the 13F securities for the period. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) yields 0.50% as of March 25. On January 27, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, in line with previous. The dividend was paid on February 7.

On March 23, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives stated that despite stellar demand for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones, the supply chain shortages continue to be an issue. However, the analyst expects some notable improvements into the June quarter which bodes well for the upcoming iPhone 14 release. He has an Outperform rating and a price target of $200 on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares.

According to the fourth quarter database of Insider Monkey, 134 hedge funds were bullish on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), up from 120 funds in the prior quarter. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway held the biggest stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), with more than 887 million shares worth $157.5 billion. 

Here is what Ariel Investments has to say about Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

“To give context to these returns, it is important to note there was inequity amongst equities. The tech giants continued their pursuit of world domination with a handful of names driving the S&P 500 to seventy(!) record highs. Dare we recall the “irrational exuberance” running rampant at the turn of the century? Yes, there was the ancillary contribution from a rebound among economically sensitive areas including Energy and Industrials, but like the late ‘90s, tech stocks reigned supreme. Just seven names now make up nearly a third of the index. The largest of all, Apple (AAPL), became the first company briefly dubbed a “3T”. (That’s a stock with a $3 trillion market cap.)”