Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Raised by Paragon Financial Partners Inc.

Paragon Financial Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,950 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 5.3% of Paragon Financial Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Paragon Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Riverwater Partners LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 11.5% in the third quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,142 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $880,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Holland Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 18.0% in the third quarter. Holland Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,277 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 4.3% in the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 152,344 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $26,083,000 after purchasing an additional 6,340 shares during the period. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 33.0% in the third quarter. Hanlon Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,458 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 3,090 shares during the period. Finally, Marion Wealth Management grew its holdings in Apple by 3.6% in the third quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 35,311 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,046,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Apple from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Maxim Group started coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $182.74 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $199.62. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $172.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.78.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.