Forefront Wealth Management Inc. Invests $7.90 Million in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Forefront Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 31,525 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $7,895,000. Apple accounts for approximately 7.3% of Forefront Wealth Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents 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 through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Raymond James lowered their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Sunday. Maxim Group increased their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

Apple Trading Up 0.7%

Apple stock traded up $1.48 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $204.75. 10,857,378 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,960,807. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.69. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management 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 given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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.