Invst LLC Increases Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Invst LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 49,814 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 404 shares during the quarter. Invst LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Milestone Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 7,460 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 311,144 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $59,905,000 after purchasing an additional 7,275 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 42,687 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,219,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $749,000. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC now owns 6,771 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,304,000 after buying an additional 1,628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Cfra lifted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.63.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $226.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $237.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average is $220.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 145.35%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 reacquire 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 shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 188,884 shares of company stock valued at $38,092,387. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.