Telemark Asset Management LLC Takes $10.02 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Telemark Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 40,000 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $10,017,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 3.0%

Apple stock traded down $6.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $195.27. The stock had a trading volume of 78,299,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,177,224. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued 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 yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.