Thoma Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 15,223 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Thoma Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,223 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $3,812,000. Apple accounts for approximately 2.6% of Thoma Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 13th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven 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 MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $234.86.

Apple Trading Down 0.6%

AAPL traded down $1.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $200.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 53,951,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,512,318. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.20, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $202.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.12. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.