Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Raised by Noble Wealth Management PBC

Noble Wealth Management PBC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 192.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,583 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 15,506 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.6% of Noble Wealth Management PBC's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Noble Wealth Management PBC's holdings in Apple were worth $5,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $211.16 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company's fifty day moving average price is $203.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The company's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $170.62 to $188.32 in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.27.

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.

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