Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Key Points

• Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in Apple Inc. by 3.9%, now holding 1,138,299 shares, valued at approximately $252.85 million, making it their second largest investment.
• Analysts have recently raised their price targets for Apple, with JPMorgan Chase increasing it from $250 to $255 and Bank of America adjusting their estimate from $235 to $240, contributing to an overall average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Apple disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share and announced a share buyback program allowing up to $100 billion in repurchases, signaling confidence in the company's valuation.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,138,299 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 42,634 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 3.8% of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $252,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.25.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $0.97 on Monday, reaching $203.35. The stock had a trading volume of 74,983,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,129,035. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $205.37 and a 200 day moving average of $213.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.