Summit Financial Consulting LLC Purchases New Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Summit Financial Consulting LLC has acquired a new position in Apple Inc., purchasing 3,828 shares valued at approximately $850,000, making Apple 0.8% of its portfolio.
• Apple reported a quarterly earnings of $1.57 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, reflecting a 9.6% year-over-year increase.
• The Board of Directors approved a $100 billion stock buyback plan, indicating confidence in the company's stock value.

Summit Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,828 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $850,000. Apple makes up 0.8% of Summit Financial Consulting LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at $58,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $2.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $227.76. 42,431,176 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $212.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.09.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is 15.78%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.98.

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.