Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Black Diamond Financial LLC

Black Diamond Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,318 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,362 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 1.3% of Black Diamond Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Black Diamond Financial LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $8,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. State Street Corp boosted its position in Apple by 10.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $136,074,372,000 after acquiring an additional 55,935,105 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 363,859,362 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,779,231,000 after purchasing an additional 18,224,005 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $77,542,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,483,787 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 6.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 94,942,731 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,121,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,893,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 91,568,390 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $21,335,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,087 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $4.42 on Monday, reaching $200.93. The stock had a trading volume of 38,361,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 59,292,355. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business's 50-day moving average price is $212.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued 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. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. China Renaissance began 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. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.