Fermata Advisors LLC Raises Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Fermata Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,589 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 10,102 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.0% of Fermata Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Fermata Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $16,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Rosenblatt Securities cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. This trade 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 business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $212.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.09, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $203.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $219.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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