Promus Capital LLC Makes New $1.62 Million Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,473 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,621,000. Apple comprises approximately 1.5% of Promus Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank downgraded Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 price objective (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $235.80.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $211.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 43,910,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 55,930,688. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $206.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year 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. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.