Clean Yield Group Purchases 1,421 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Clean Yield Group raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,545 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 7.7% of Clean Yield Group's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Clean Yield Group's holdings in Apple were worth $23,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ONE Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. ONE Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,363 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 6.4% during the first quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 43,521 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $9,667,000 after acquiring an additional 2,637 shares during the last quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 1.5% in the first quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 52,113 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $11,576,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its position in Apple by 3.1% in the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 160,783 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $35,715,000 after purchasing an additional 4,890 shares during the period. Finally, Persium Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Persium Advisors LLC now owns 5,783 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $211.16. 39,713,698 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,392,190. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $203.27 and a 200-day moving average of $217.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $170.62 to $188.32 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays set a $173.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.27.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.