Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is D.A. Davidson & CO.’s 5th Largest Position

D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,591,821 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 7,002 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 2.4% of D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Apple were worth $206,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Cassia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,148,000. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. lifted its position in shares of Apple by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 2,340,129 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $304,053,000 after buying an additional 115,929 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the third quarter valued at $563,000. Finally, Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 105,200 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,072,000 after purchasing an additional 4,402 shares during the period. 57.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total value of $29,991,744.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at $78,253,004.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 177,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,299,192.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at $78,253,004.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $172.69 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $163.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.17 and a 12-month high of $176.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $2.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $94.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.84 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 165.72% and a net margin of 24.49%. Apple’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Apple from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Fundamental Research set a $183.86 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Atlantic Securities boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.74.

About Apple

(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.