DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC Takes $3.74 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 14,922 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,737,000. Apple comprises about 3.0% of DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Maxim Group increased their price objective on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.80.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Down 0.4%

AAPL stock opened at $201.36 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $205.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.12. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.