Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 37,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $7,222,000. Apple accounts for 7.2% of Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its largest position.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meredith Wealth Planning boosted its stake in Apple by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. Meredith Wealth Planning now owns 9,197 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 2,564 shares during the period. Herbst Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.6% in the third quarter. Herbst Group LLC now owns 29,470 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,046,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC IL boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.8% during the third quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC IL now owns 318,764 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $54,576,000 after buying an additional 5,647 shares during the period. LexAurum Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the third quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 83,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,241,000 after buying an additional 2,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hill Island Financial LLC raised its position in Apple by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hill Island Financial LLC now owns 7,942 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after buying an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Maxim Group assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.62.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $173.03 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $172.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.95%.

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.