Tidemark LLC Increases Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Tidemark LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,494 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 831 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 1.9% of Tidemark LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Tidemark LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% 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 valued at $42,694,080 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $195.27 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $205.04 and a 200-day moving average of $225.94. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.00, a PEG 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. 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. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.