Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Essex LLC

Essex LLC boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 36,354 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,951 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 1.7% of Essex LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Essex LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Asset Planning Corporation increased its position in Apple by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, 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 transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, 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 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $182.74 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.78. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $199.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly 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. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. 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 yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Apple 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.