HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Acquires 4,086 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 337,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,086 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.2% of HBK Sorce Advisory LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $75,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $140,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $9.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $229.35. 113,661,399 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,719,256. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $206.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.21. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 posted $1.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% 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 announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.60.

Apple Profile

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.