Financial Advisory Corp Makes New $2.28 Million Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 9,112 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,282,000. Apple makes up about 0.4% of Financial Advisory Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $46,868,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,272,653,000 after acquiring an additional 20,966,232 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Apple by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after purchasing an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $4.42 on Friday, reaching $201.00. 95,792,149 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 53,610,148. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.56. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.86.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.