Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lifted by Audent Global Asset Management LLC

Audent Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 155.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,785 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 21,162 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.7% of Audent Global Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Audent Global Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $8,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its position in Apple by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 433,723 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $109,385,000 after buying an additional 21,647 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $200,000. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $7,331,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,147,000. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,539,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.6%

Apple stock traded up $1.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $201.56. The company had a trading volume of 39,442,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,445,309. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $202.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.98. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. The company's 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. 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 (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price target (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.86.

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.