20,883 Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Bought by Center For Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Center For Asset Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Apple Inc., purchasing 20,883 shares valued at approximately $4.63 million, making Apple 8th in its portfolio.
• Apple recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.65 EPS, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $95.36 billion, marking a 5.1% increase year-over-year.
• The company's Board announced a $100 billion share buyback program, indicating confidence in the stock's value proposition.

Center For Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 20,883 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $4,639,000. Apple comprises 2.8% of Center For Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after purchasing an additional 49,168,843 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after acquiring an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock traded down $2.22 on Wednesday, reaching $209.05. The stock had a trading volume of 43,674,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,746,808. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm's 50-day moving average is $205.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.50%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 18th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.94.

Apple Company 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.