Tepp RIA LLC Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Tepp RIA LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,338 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,587,000. Apple makes up about 2.3% of Tepp RIA LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Maxim Group lifted their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.02.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the 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 directly owns 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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 corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $3.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $203.92. 46,477,335 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 56,154,463. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $201.17 and a 200 day moving average of $224.15.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.