Friday Financial Has $3.78 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Friday Financial increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 232.2% during Q1, holding 16,902 shares valued at $3.78 million, making it the firm’s 13th largest investment.
• Apple recently reported earnings of $1.57 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, to be paid on August 14th.
• Wall Street analysts show a mixed sentiment towards Apple, with price targets ranging from $180 to $290, indicating a potential for growth as the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Friday Financial raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 232.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,902 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 11,814 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.3% of Friday Financial's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Friday Financial's holdings in Apple were worth $3,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.6% during the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 28.3% in the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,337,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.8% in the first quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,045,000 after buying an additional 5,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 3,368.2% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $113,062,000 after buying an additional 438,471 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $5.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $202.38. 97,423,066 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 44,912,472. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.17. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 172.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.