Sowell Financial Services LLC Has $88.80 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 399,743 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 2,247 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 4.0% of Sowell Financial Services LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $88,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $215.00. 26,462,465 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,728,691. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $204.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders 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. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.11.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.