Chapman Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 27,667 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Chapman Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 27,667 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $6,928,000. Apple makes up approximately 5.5% of Chapman Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Castellan Group lifted its stake in Apple by 206.9% in the third quarter. Castellan Group now owns 5,782 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after acquiring an additional 3,898 shares during the last quarter. American Trust increased its stake in shares of Apple by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 77,292 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $18,009,000 after purchasing an additional 5,118 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 37,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,773,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. Oriental Harbor Investment Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $89,178,000. Finally, Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.3% in the third quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,685 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $196.45 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $201.76 and a 200-day moving average of $222.93. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. 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 results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank lowered Apple to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen cut their price objective 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 reduced 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Sunday, June 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.