Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Canton Hathaway LLC

Key Points

• Canton Hathaway LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 24.5%, acquiring an additional 5,404 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total holdings to 27,457 shares worth $6,099,000.
• Apple announced a $100 billion share repurchase program as part of its strategy to support stock value, indicating the board's belief in the stock's undervaluation.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.25, reflecting a positive trend in its returns to shareholders.

Canton Hathaway LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 24.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,457 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 5,404 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 1.2% of Canton Hathaway LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Canton Hathaway LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $6,099,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.94.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock traded down $2.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $209.05. 43,674,703 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,746,808. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $205.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.