Argentarii LLC Takes Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Argentarii LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 57,277 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $14,343,000. Apple comprises about 7.2% of Argentarii LLC's portfolio, making the stock its largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company'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 directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% 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 valued at $42,694,080 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $1.92 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $206.86. The company had a trading volume of 42,411,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,903,925. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $205.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.57. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.