Frederick Financial Consultants LLC Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Frederick Financial Consultants LLC bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 19,556 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $4,897,000. Apple makes up about 3.9% of Frederick Financial Consultants LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple 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 value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $196.45 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $201.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22.

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, 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 net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAPL. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday, June 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.86.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.