9,390 Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Acquired by Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC

Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 9,390 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,351,000. Apple comprises approximately 0.7% of Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 282,390 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $70,716,000 after acquiring an additional 4,550 shares during the period. CV Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 57.8% in the 4th quarter. CV Advisors LLC now owns 84,570 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $21,178,000 after purchasing an additional 30,993 shares in the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP lifted its stake in Apple by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 5,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Tumwater Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,287,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 875,674 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $219,286,000 after purchasing an additional 77,170 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Maxim Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.80.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $195.27 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $205.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.94.

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

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. 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 yield of 0.53%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

About Apple

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.