Clare Market Investments LLC Purchases New Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Clare Market Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 260,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $65,338,000. Apple comprises approximately 15.5% of Clare Market Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Grant Street Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Grant Street Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,782 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,952,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $5,111,000. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Apple by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 39,006 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $9,768,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in Apple by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 952,107 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $238,427,000 after purchasing an additional 84,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altiora Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Altiora Financial Group LLC now owns 10,715 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,683,000 after buying an additional 4,209 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $4.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $202.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 59,113,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,963,045. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $205.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $226.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Oppenheimer lowered Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased 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. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple 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 of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.