Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Boosted by Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC

Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,644 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,418 shares during the period. Apple comprises 7.2% of Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $10,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Sunday, June 1st. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.86.

Apple Stock Down 1.4%

Apple stock opened at $195.64 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $202.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.47, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.