Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,150,911 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 32,850 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 5.4% of State of Alaska Department of Revenue's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Apple were worth $477,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $0.17 during trading on Monday, reaching $214.05. 37,786,671 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 47,818,408. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $204.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.34, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management 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.