AA Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

AA Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,767 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 1,717 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.2% of AA Financial Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. AA Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $4,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other 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 value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.94.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $213.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 38,805,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,464,392. The company has a 50 day moving average of $204.77 and a 200 day moving average of $214.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase 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.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

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.