Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s 7th Largest Position

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,414 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,825 shares during the period. Apple makes up 2.5% of Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management boosted its stake in Apple by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation increased its stake in Apple by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.71.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 192,355 shares of company stock worth $34,771,329. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $220.27 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $193.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.44. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $220.38. The company has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly 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. 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in 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 a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.