Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Lifted by Bouchey Financial Group Ltd

Bouchey Financial Group Ltd raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 289,725 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 9,466 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 6.3% of Bouchey Financial Group Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Bouchey Financial Group Ltd's holdings in Apple were worth $72,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its position in Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Apple Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $1.04 on Friday, reaching $198.53. 36,406,804 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,072,491. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a PEG 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's fifty day simple moving average is $208.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $227.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.