Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 3,206 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 620,616 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 3,206 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 5.1% of Dana Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $155,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter valued at about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price target (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Argus raised Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $235.80.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded down $0.88 on Thursday, reaching $211.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 43,910,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,930,688. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.56, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $206.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $226.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

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 reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.