Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Kovack Advisors Inc.'s 3rd Largest Position

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 197,532 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 19,150 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 4.9% of Kovack Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Kovack Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $49,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Maxim Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.5 %

Apple stock traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $198.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 36,406,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,044,007. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's fifty day moving average is $208.83 and its two-hundred 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued 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 an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.