Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Constitution Capital LLC

Constitution Capital LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,728 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 2,940 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 4.8% of Constitution Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Constitution Capital LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $8,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $213.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $203.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.66. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business 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 for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $170.62 to $188.32 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.95.

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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