Harbour Investment Management LLC Grows Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Harbour Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,896 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 1,293 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 5.8% of Harbour Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Harbour Investment Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $13,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van Strum & Towne Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 5,472 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,370,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 88,372 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $22,130,000 after buying an additional 12,464 shares in the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 50,028 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,528,000 after purchasing an additional 5,723 shares in the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,693,000. Finally, Montis Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Montis Financial LLC now owns 98,679 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $24,711,000 after purchasing an additional 3,492 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $195.27 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $205.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $225.95.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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