Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. Raises Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co. grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,063 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 330 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 0.4% of Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Financial Futures Ltd Liability Co.’s holdings in Apple were worth $590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 35,516 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,838,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577 shares during the last quarter. White Wing Wealth Management bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,464,000. MA Private Wealth grew its position in Apple by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. MA Private Wealth now owns 14,086 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,501 shares during the last quarter. SOL Capital Management CO raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. SOL Capital Management CO now owns 98,013 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $18,870,000 after acquiring an additional 2,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. American Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,981 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Redburn Atlantic lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. DZ Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.72.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $183.38 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $199.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $172.15 and a 200 day moving average of $181.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio 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.