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Theory Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 97.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,031 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Theory Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC increased its position in Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following 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 represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 187,021 shares of company stock worth $41,760,140. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Barclays cut their target price on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.63.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Apple
Apple Stock Up 0.4 %
AAPL stock opened at $213.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $212.98 and a 200 day moving average of $228.83.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
Apple announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Apple Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.
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.
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