A&I Financial Services LLC Takes $1.23 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

A&I Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,928 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,234,000. Apple comprises approximately 1.2% of A&I Financial Services LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $196.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.15, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $209.64 and a 200-day moving average of $227.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price target (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

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.

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