Ascent Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Ascent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 28,246 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $7,073,000. Apple comprises approximately 7.2% of Ascent Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth about $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $4.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $200.21. 55,838,867 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,255,357. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.71. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Raymond James cut their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer cut Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

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.