Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Claris Advisors LLC MO

Claris Advisors LLC MO grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 45.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,545 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,948 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 1.2% of Claris Advisors LLC MO's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Claris Advisors LLC MO's holdings in Apple were worth $3,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock traded down $4.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $202.09. 59,113,086 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,963,045. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.08, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $205.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $226.43. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 5th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer lowered Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given 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, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

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.