Zhang Financial LLC Acquires 3,715 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Zhang Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 199,722 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 3,715 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 2.3% of Zhang Financial LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Zhang Financial LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $44,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays set a $173.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.27.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $2.54 on Monday, hitting $208.62. 38,653,968 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,464,684. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $203.39 and a 200-day moving average of $216.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.