Denali Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 160,669 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 9,985 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 4.2% of Denali Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Denali Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $40,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $77,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $0.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $198.26. 14,565,726 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,959,857. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock's 50-day moving average is $208.83 and its 200-day moving average is $227.64.

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

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are 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 $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents 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 valued at $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Maxim Group raised their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price target (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Apple 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.