Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lifted by Stokes Family Office LLC

Stokes Family Office LLC grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 256,373 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,919 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 6.9% of Stokes Family Office LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Stokes Family Office LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $64,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Councilmark Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Councilmark Asset Management LLC now owns 68,674 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $17,197,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. West Tower Group LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. North Forty Two & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $3,138,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,821,000. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 98,740 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $24,726,000 after buying an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price objective (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

Apple Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of AAPL traded down $0.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $199.01. 70,744,759 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,280,416. The stock's 50-day moving average is $203.59 and its 200-day moving average is $225.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Apple Company 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.