Indie Asset Partners LLC Has $6.72 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Indie Asset Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 34,889 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 6.1% of Indie Asset Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Indie Asset Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its position in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple by 70.2% during the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $132,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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. Bank of America increased their target price on Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Maxim Group began coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.11.

Apple Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $182.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.78.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple Company Profile

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.