JLB & Associates Inc. Has $36.61 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

JLB & Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,828 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,425 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 5.1% of JLB & Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. JLB & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $36,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.94.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $213.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 38,805,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,464,392. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $204.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.31, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.