DCF Advisers LLC Acquires 5,000 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

DCF Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 166.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,000 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. DCF Advisers LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $2,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Apple by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $192,700,000 after purchasing an additional 83,997 shares in the last quarter. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth $4,972,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 6.3% in the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,670,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,308,000 after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,433,000 after purchasing an additional 2,360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Apple stock traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $202.87. 7,999,213 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,960,201. 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 twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.84. The company has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday. Citigroup restated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.