Horizon Financial Services LLC Purchases 743,601 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Horizon Financial Services LLC has significantly increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 20,644.1%, owning 747,203 shares valued at approximately $165.98 million.
• Apple's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $1.57 earnings per share against a consensus estimate of $1.43, with revenues of $94.04 billion.
• The company has approved a $100 billion share buyback program, indicating management's belief that its shares are undervalued.

Horizon Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 20,644.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 747,203 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 743,601 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.4% of Horizon Financial Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Horizon Financial Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $165,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% 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. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL traded down $1.5190 during trading on Thursday, hitting $224.4910. 17,095,958 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,413,074. The company has a market cap of $3.33 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $211.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.15. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan 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 plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.98.

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.