Strategic Equity Management Buys 1,891 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Strategic Equity Management boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 97.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,831 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 1,891 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 0.4% of Strategic Equity Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Strategic Equity Management's holdings in Apple were worth $959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.1%

AAPL traded down $0.19 on Friday, hitting $211.26. 53,614,750 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,997,127. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $206.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.66. 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 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple'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. Sell-side analysts expect 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 program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given 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 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Bank of America decreased their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

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.