Keystone Financial Services LLC Acquires 1,300 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Keystone Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 29.2% in the first quarter, now holding 5,754 shares valued at approximately $1.28 million.
• Several hedge funds have recently acquired new positions in Apple, with institutional investors and hedge funds collectively owning 67.73% of the company's stock.
• Apple reported quarterly earnings of $1.57 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, with a revenue of $94.04 billion, marking a 9.6% increase year-over-year.

Keystone Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 29.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,754 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.1% of Keystone Financial Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Keystone Financial Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $1,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 165,133 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $36,635,000 after purchasing an additional 3,556 shares during the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the first quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 9,336 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,074,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. G&S Capital LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 6.0% in the first quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 18,744 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. RedJay Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $10,440,000. Finally, Red Door Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 142,495 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $31,652,000 after acquiring an additional 5,606 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This 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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.13 on Tuesday, hitting $230.76. 8,640,402 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,554,328. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50 day moving average price is $210.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm 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 170.91%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 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 note on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.60.

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.