94,798 Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Acquired by Natural Investments LLC

Natural Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 94,798 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $23,739,000. Apple accounts for about 6.5% of Natural Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Carrera Capital Advisors grew its stake in Apple by 30.2% during the third quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 10,367 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,415,000 after buying an additional 2,405 shares during the period. RPG Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 135,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $31,655,000 after acquiring an additional 2,684 shares in the last quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners boosted its position in Apple by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners now owns 12,300 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,866,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas increased its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 216,411 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $50,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its position in Apple by 2.8% in the third quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 34,856 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,121,000 after purchasing an additional 965 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $206.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $205.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.43.

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

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in 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 usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reissued a “cautious” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, May 5th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.80.

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.