Putney Financial Group LLC Takes $27.45 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Putney Financial Group 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 & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 109,621 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $27,451,000. Apple accounts for about 19.1% of Putney Financial Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $196.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22. The company's fifty day moving average is $202.29 and its 200 day moving average is $222.00. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change 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 0.53%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.86.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.

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