125,821 Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Bought by Perennial Advisors LLC

Perennial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 125,821 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $31,508,000. Apple accounts for about 6.9% of Perennial Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,639,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 8,989,756 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,251,215,000 after buying an additional 1,395,668 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 315,003 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $78,883,000 after acquiring an additional 10,526 shares during the period. Baer Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $2,979,000. Finally, Griffith & Werner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $6,157,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $4.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $201.00. 95,792,149 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 54,505,078. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $202.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.00. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.31, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Sunday, June 1st. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.