Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 73,948 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $18,088,000. Apple accounts for about 6.6% of Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.
Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 111,858 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $28,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. CJM Wealth Advisers Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. CJM Wealth Advisers Ltd. now owns 23,741 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,945,000 after buying an additional 3,226 shares in the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,382 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,356,000 after buying an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Apple by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 47,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $11,857,000 after buying an additional 2,847 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $965,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Activity at Apple
In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Apple Price Performance
NASDAQ AAPL opened at $196.58 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.00. 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 company has a market cap of $2.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.
Apple announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Apple Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.86.
Read Our Latest Analysis on AAPL
Apple Profile
(
Free Report)
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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