Financial Avengers Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,787 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 12,422 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 11.9% of Financial Avengers Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Financial Avengers Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $25,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.86.
View Our Latest Analysis on Apple
Apple Price Performance
NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $195.64 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $202.21 and a 200 day moving average of $222.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.22.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Apple Increases Dividend
The business 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 positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.
Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Activity
In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following 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. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction 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 $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Apple
(
Free Report)
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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