Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Baker Avenue Asset Management LP

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 25.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 652,205 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 131,537 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 5.0% of Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Apple were worth $163,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, TD Cowen cut 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. Three 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.86.

Apple Trading Up 1.0%

AAPL stock traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $198.42. 42,787,259 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 54,695,327. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $201.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.93. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.