Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 17.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 270,411 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 39,689 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 4.5% of GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $60,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its holdings in Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 15,035 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,666,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 154,737 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $38,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,995 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $210.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.27.

Apple Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $211.16. The stock had a trading volume of 39,713,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,392,240. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The business's 50 day moving average is $203.27 and its 200-day moving average is $217.73.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

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.