Define Financial LLC Increases Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Define Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 278.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 2,502 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 0.6% of Define Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Define Financial LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $755,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.5%

Apple stock traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $210.16. The stock had a trading volume of 47,419,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,235,037. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.74, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $204.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.41. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. 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 business earned $1.53 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. 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 is 16.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays set a $173.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.27.

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.