Main Street Research LLC Buys 3,983 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Main Street Research LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 1.1% in Q1, now owning 373,561 shares, which constitute 5.4% of their portfolio and are valued at approximately $82.98 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 67.73% of Apple stock, with several firms acquiring new positions during the recent quarters.
• Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a consensus price target of $237.37 after recent earnings beat expectations.

Main Street Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 373,561 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 3,983 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 5.4% of Main Street Research LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Main Street Research LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $82,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter worth $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Down 0.2%

AAPL traded down $0.42 on Friday, reaching $232.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 39,382,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 58,935,340. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business's 50 day moving average is $215.79 and its 200 day moving average is $213.08. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

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.