Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY Acquires 432 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 139,292 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 432 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.9% of Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s holdings in Apple were worth $23,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $221.55 on Thursday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $194.21 and its 200-day moving average is $185.60. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $221.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released 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. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAPL. 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. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Apple from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.