Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Raised by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 952,107 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 84,241 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 3.2% of Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Apple were worth $238,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Altiora Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Altiora Financial Group LLC now owns 10,715 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 4,209 shares during the last quarter. Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 87.1% during the 4th quarter. Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc. now owns 24,194 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,059,000 after purchasing an additional 11,266 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,484 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,639,000 after purchasing an additional 3,575 shares during the last quarter. Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,690,000. Finally, Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,912,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.80.

Apple Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $208.78 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $205.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

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.