Aigen Investment Management LP Purchases Shares of 4,380 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,380 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,097,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 108,247 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $27,107,000 after buying an additional 19,239 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 196,479 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $49,202,000 after buying an additional 10,011 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 70,415 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $17,633,000 after buying an additional 13,161 shares during the period. LVZ Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 24,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,099,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 472,388 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $118,295,000 after buying an additional 11,151 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Maxim Group increased their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Apple Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $211.45. The stock had a trading volume of 43,910,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,930,688. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $206.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $226.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% 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, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Company 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.