Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Increased by Aspire Private Capital LLC

Key Points

• Aspire Private Capital LLC has increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 16.8% in the first quarter, now holding 30,024 shares valued at approximately $6.67 million.
• Apple recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.26, representing a yield of 0.49% and a payout ratio of 16.20%.
• Research analysts show a mixed outlook for Apple, with the stock receiving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.94.

Aspire Private Capital LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 16.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,024 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 4,311 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.7% of Aspire Private Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Aspire Private Capital LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $6,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after buying an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock traded down $2.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $209.05. 43,674,703 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,746,808. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $205.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.94.

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.