BBR Partners LLC Purchases 25,942 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

BBR Partners LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 220,998 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 25,942 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.9% of BBR Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. BBR Partners LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $55,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake 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 in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.1%

Apple stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $211.26. The stock had a trading volume of 53,614,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,997,127. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $206.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 16.20%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 target price (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.