Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases 20,599 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 386,474 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,599 shares during the period. Apple makes up 0.9% of Park Avenue Securities LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $66,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $207.49 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $220.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Wedbush upped their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.38.

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.