Aspetuck Financial Management LLC Purchases Shares of 17,813 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Aspetuck Financial Management LLC has acquired a new position in Apple Inc., purchasing 17,813 shares valued at approximately $3.96 million, making Apple 3.4% of the firm's portfolio.
• Apple recently reported earnings of $1.57 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and achieving revenue of $94.04 billion, marking a 9.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, along with a stock repurchase plan allowing for the buyback of up to $100 billion in shares, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Aspetuck Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,813 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,957,000. Apple makes up about 3.4% of Aspetuck Financial Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded up $9.32 on Friday, reaching $229.35. The stock had a trading volume of 113,661,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,719,256. The business's 50-day moving average price is $206.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.