Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Diversified Enterprises LLC

Diversified Enterprises LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,986 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,777 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 1.6% of Diversified Enterprises LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Diversified Enterprises LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $16,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth about $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL traded up $4.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $200.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 55,838,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,255,357. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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 paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 target price (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.80.

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.