Roundview Capital LLC Raises Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Roundview Capital LLC boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 309,051 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 5.4% of Roundview Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Roundview Capital LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $77,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at about $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Maxim Group upped their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.86.

Apple Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Apple stock traded up $1.22 on Tuesday, hitting $202.67. The company had a trading volume of 52,015,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,214,415. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $200.72 and a 200-day moving average of $223.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last 90 days. 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.