Towneley Capital Management Inc DE Buys 10,267 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Towneley Capital Management Inc DE boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 890.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,420 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 10,267 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 0.6% of Towneley Capital Management Inc DE's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Towneley Capital Management Inc DE's holdings in Apple were worth $2,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Scotiabank downgraded Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.95.

Apple Trading Up 0.0%

AAPL stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $210.01. The company had a trading volume of 42,218,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,538,384. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $203.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.13. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.71, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. 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 previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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 repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

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.