5,550 Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Bought by U S Global Investors Inc.

U S Global Investors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,550 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,233,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $3.95 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $233.60. 55,591,683 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,968,047. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $207.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.21. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. China Renaissance initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.60.

Apple Company 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.