Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Decreases Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,118 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,016 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 1.2% of Altfest L J & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Robinson Value Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 249 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its position in Apple by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Align Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Apple by 14,693.8% during the 3rd quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,024,330 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 5,983,608 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 56,072 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.17, for a total value of $9,261,412.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,766,188.84. 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 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.92, for a total transaction of $32,984.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 177,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,299,192.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 56,072 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.17, for a total value of $9,261,412.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,766,188.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $172.57 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $162.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.81. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $124.17 and a one year high of $176.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $94.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.84 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 165.72% and a net margin of 24.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 4th that permits the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Apple from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Apple from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Cowen lowered their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Apple from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.29.

Apple Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.