Top 5 Dividend Stocks To Buy According To Hedge Funds

In this article, we will discuss top 5 dividend stocks to buy according to hedge funds. If you want to read our detailed analysis of dividend stocks and their performance, go directly to read Top 16 Dividend Stocks To Buy According To Hedge Funds. 

5. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 131

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ranks fifth on our list of the top dividend stocks according to hedge funds. In May, Atlantic Equities lifted its price target on the stock to $200 with an Overweight rating on the shares, appreciating the company’s revenue and earnings in the most recent quarter.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, having raised it by 4.3% in May. This marked the company’s 11th consecutive year of dividend growth. The stock has a dividend yield of 0.56%, as of May 24. In fiscal second quarter, the company returned $23 billion to shareholders in dividends and share repurchases.

At the end of March, 131 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had stakes in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), compared with 135 in the previous quarter. These stakes have a collective value of $165.2 billion. Among these hedge funds, Berkshire Hathaway was the company’s leading stakeholder with 915.56 million shares.

Fred Alger Management mentioned Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s outperformance in its Q1 2023 investor letter.

“Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a leading technology provider in telecommunications, computing, and services. Apple’s iOS operating system is the company’s unique intellectual property and competitive strength. This software drives particularly tight engagement with consumers and enterprises, which is fostering the growing purchase of high margin services like music, apps, and Apple Pay. While iPhone sales were down year-over-year (YoY). services revenues grew 7% YoY which was slightly above analyst estimates. Company earnings were also better-than-anticipated due to lower input costs, such as memory chips and cost control initiatives. Aside from production disruptions, negative sentiment had also weighed on shares as investors questioned how an economic slowdown would affect consumer demand for Apple products in 2023. However, management projected an acceleration in earnings for the fiscal first quarter, where they noted that iPhone and services growth should remain strong, along with encouraging impacts around product mix, lower input costs, and continued cost controls.”