Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Motley Fool Asset Management LLC

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 527,172 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 62,146 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 6.9% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $132,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank cut Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.86.

Apple Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $2.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $196.45. The stock had a trading volume of 51,345,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,742,937. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The business's fifty day moving average price is $201.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.02. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Company 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.