Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. Invests $1.71 Million in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,895 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,713,000. Apple accounts for about 0.9% of Yeomans Consulting Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 14,395.4% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,119,470,000 after acquiring an additional 70,212,651 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after purchasing an additional 18,067,216 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 130.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,430,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,815,594,000 after purchasing an additional 5,331,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $560,388,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $216.67 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.19. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $220.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Apple from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. DZ Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $207.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.