Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Lifted by MONECO Advisors LLC

MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,982 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 9,837 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 3.0% of MONECO Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. MONECO Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $28,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 62,139 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $15,561,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Lansing Street Advisors boosted its stake in Apple by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 15,459 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,871,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 455,685 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $114,113,000 after acquiring an additional 31,832 shares during the period. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 39,948 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $10,004,000 after buying an additional 489 shares during the period. Finally, New England Professional Planning Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. now owns 5,079 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Down 3.7 %

Apple stock traded down $7.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $205.35. 100,891,435 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,620,753. The business's 50 day moving average is $212.15 and its 200 day moving average is $228.63. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.25.

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.