10,381 Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Bought by Axis Wealth Partners LLC

Axis Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,381 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,600,000. Apple accounts for about 2.2% of Axis Wealth Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.19 on Friday, hitting $211.26. 53,614,750 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,997,127. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $226.66. The company has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.53, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. 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 announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.