one8zero8 LLC Takes Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

one8zero8 LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 133,856 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $33,520,000. Apple comprises 7.2% of one8zero8 LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of AAPL traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $199.95. The company had a trading volume of 51,367,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,221,859. The stock has a market cap of $2.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.20. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% 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 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Rosenblatt Securities cut Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

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.