Sfm LLC Acquires Shares of 8,317 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

SFM LLC bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,317 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,847,000. Apple makes up 1.4% of SFM LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $211.18. 48,647,642 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,145,744. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $204.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $215.61. The company has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.