Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC Buys Shares of 1,662 Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC invested approximately $369,000 in Apple Inc., acquiring 1,662 shares, which constitutes about 0.3% of its investment portfolio.
• Apple reported earnings of $1.57 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.14, along with a revenue of $94.04 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 9.6%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%, and has initiated a share buyback program allowing for up to $100 billion in repurchases.

Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,662 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $369,000. Apple accounts for 0.3% of Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.60.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $230.76. 8,640,402 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,554,328. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $210.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.07, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

About Apple

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.