Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Clarity Financial LLC

Clarity Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 15.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,700 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 18,626 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 3.6% of Clarity Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $221.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $221.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 yield of 0.45%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 192,355 shares of company stock worth $34,771,329. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.