Kades & Cheifetz LLC Purchases New Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Kades & Cheifetz LLC purchased a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 41,987 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $5,455,000. Apple makes up approximately 4.6% of Kades & Cheifetz LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MKT Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the second quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,777,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.8% in the second quarter. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. now owns 3,925 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 3D L Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 2.9% in the first quarter. 3D L Capital Management LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Weik Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the first quarter. Weik Capital Management now owns 25,238 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,407,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coyle Financial Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 26,125 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,572,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 57.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $172.07 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.10. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.17 and a 52-week high of $176.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $2.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. Apple had a return on equity of 165.72% and a net margin of 24.49%. The business had revenue of $94.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total transaction of $708,979.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,881,483.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total value of $708,979.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,946 shares in the company, valued at $5,881,483.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,622 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $7,215,515.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,569,202.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. National Bank Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Apple to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $184.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.29.

Apple Company Profile

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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.