Capital Management Associates Inc Purchases 24,939 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Capital Management Associates Inc raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 70.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,545 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 24,939 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 3.0% of Capital Management Associates Inc's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Capital Management Associates Inc's holdings in Apple were worth $13,449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter worth approximately $58,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased 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, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.37.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Apple stock traded up $0.80 on Wednesday, hitting $230.11. 19,336,211 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,990,016. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.93, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50-day moving average is $213.77 and its 200 day moving average is $212.93.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

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

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.