Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Boosted by Arete Wealth Advisors LLC

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 37.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 172,767 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 47,356 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 3.1% of Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $43,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Three 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.86.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $2.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $196.45. The company had a trading volume of 51,345,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,742,937. The company's 50 day moving average price is $201.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given 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 was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

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.