Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Gables Capital Management Inc.

Gables Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,895 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,877 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 7.5% of Gables Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Gables Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $15,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Carrera Capital Advisors increased its holdings in Apple by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 10,367 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,415,000 after buying an additional 2,405 shares during the period. RPG Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 2.0% in the third quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 135,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $31,655,000 after buying an additional 2,684 shares in the last quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.5% during the third quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners now owns 12,300 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,866,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 216,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $50,424,000 after buying an additional 1,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its stake in Apple by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 34,856 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,121,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $206.86 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $205.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Maxim Group increased their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.

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