M1 Capital Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

M1 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 79,481 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $19,904,000. Apple comprises about 10.8% of M1 Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $201.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 55,014,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,620,890. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $202.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.86.

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.