Sweeney & Michel LLC Acquires New Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sweeney & Michel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 71,320 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $15,842,000. Apple comprises about 6.4% of Sweeney & Michel LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 owned 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $2.65 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $207.82. The stock had a trading volume of 78,634,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,588,359. 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 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $202.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $219.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. KeyCorp raised Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.95.

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.