Equita Financial Network Inc. Boosts Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Equita Financial Network Inc. increased its position in Apple Inc. by 53.2% during the first quarter, owning a total of 7,116 shares worth $1.58 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Norges Bank and GAMMA Investing LLC, significantly expanded their holdings in Apple, with GAMMA increasing its stake by 25,934.1%, now owning over 60 million shares.
• Apple recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%, and its Board approved a stock repurchase plan for up to $100 billion in shares.

Equita Financial Network Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 53.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,116 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,471 shares during the period. Equita Financial Network Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $1,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $1.5190 during trading on Thursday, hitting $224.4910. The company had a trading volume of 17,095,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,413,074. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.15. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.98.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate 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.