Inkwell Capital LLC Buys Shares of 18,261 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Inkwell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 18,261 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $4,573,000. Apple accounts for approximately 4.9% of Inkwell Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $140,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $203.92 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $201.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

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

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock 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 repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Maxim Group upped their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Four 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.02.

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.