Note Advisors LLC Makes New $945,000 Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Note Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,774 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $945,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.4%

Apple stock opened at $195.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.22. The business's fifty day moving average is $202.21 and its 200 day moving average is $222.47.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Maxim Group upped their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.86.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.