Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 400,155 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 3,647 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 2.5% of Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $100,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. O Connor Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.
Apple Stock Up 1.6%
Shares of AAPL traded up $3.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $203.77. 23,305,778 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,992,980. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $201.56 and a 200 day moving average of $224.35.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.
Apple Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.
Apple declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.02.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AAPL
Insider Buying and Selling at Apple
In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Apple Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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