Cambridge Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Cambridge Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 36,277 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $9,084,000. Apple comprises 3.8% of Cambridge Financial Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

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

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $203.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $201.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's 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 repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued 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 has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.02.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 owned by insiders.

About Apple

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.