Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by PDS Planning Inc

Key Points

• PDS Planning Inc increased its Apple stake by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 6,914 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 130,608 shares worth about $35.5 million.
• Apple reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $2.01 per share beating estimates and revenue of $111.18 billion topping expectations, while revenue rose 16.6% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share, and analyst sentiment remains positive with an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $305.74.

PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,608 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 6,914 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.4% of PDS Planning Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. PDS Planning Inc's holdings in Apple were worth $35,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 15.7% in the third quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 298,920 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 40,543 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.0%

Apple stock opened at $293.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.46 and a 1-year high of $294.76. The company has a market cap of $4.31 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $261.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.58%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 96,485 shares of company stock worth $24,594,845 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Apple from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $305.74.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush lifted Apple’s price target to $400 and said AI could drive a major growth wave for AAPL. Apple price target boosted by Wedbush on AI monetization expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Apple reached a preliminary chip-making deal with Intel boosted confidence in Apple’s manufacturing strategy and supply chain flexibility. Apple, Intel Have Reached Preliminary Chip-Making Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see WWDC as a potential inflection point, with upcoming AI-related software features seen as a possible catalyst for Apple’s next leg higher. Apple’s biggest bull is now calling for a 37% stock jump
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains near its recent highs after strong quarterly results, keeping investor expectations elevated ahead of the next catalyst. Dow Jones Futures: Market At Highs With Iran, Trump-Xi Summit In Focus; Apple, Nvidia, Boeing In Buy Areas
• Negative Sentiment: Apple also faces ongoing legal and regulatory noise, including a Siri settlement and App Store antitrust disputes, which could weigh on sentiment if they escalate. Apple promised a smarter Siri, but a lawsuit says it didn’t deliver—and you can get up to $95 back

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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