Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Flower City Capital

Key Points

• Flower City Capital increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 23.6%, now owning 17,103 shares valued at approximately $3.8 million, making it the firm's 7th largest position.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Norges Bank, have also recently adjusted their positions in Apple, indicating strong interest in the stock as it remains institutionally owned at 67.73%.
• Apple announced a $100 billion stock buyback plan as a sign of confidence in its value, and a quarterly dividend of $0.26 is set to be paid to shareholders on August 14.

Flower City Capital increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 23.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,103 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 3,271 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.5% of Flower City Capital's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Flower City Capital's holdings in Apple were worth $3,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $1.60 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $203.98. 34,222,488 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,844,102. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $205.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.50. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.25.

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.