Collar Capital Management LLC Buys New Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Collar Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,924 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $4,739,000. Apple accounts for 3.9% of Collar Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS lifted its holdings in Apple by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 73,945 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $17,229,000 after buying an additional 5,231 shares during the last quarter. SMART Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. SMART Wealth LLC now owns 14,580 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,397,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. SK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,304,000. Penney Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 7,852 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,829,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 11,509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,882,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was 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 $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents 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 three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $198.42 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a PEG 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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 given a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.86.

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.