Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Acquires 7,887 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 38.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,530 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 7,887 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 2.7% of Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $7,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $2.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $196.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 51,345,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,742,937. 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 50 day moving average price of $201.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.02. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

About Apple

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.