Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. Has $9.91 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,582 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.8% of Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. Allstate Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 3,368.2% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $113,062,000 after acquiring an additional 438,471 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Apple by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $192,700,000 after purchasing an additional 83,997 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank lifted its position in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,433,000 after purchasing an additional 2,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.86.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $195.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.47.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. Apple’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. 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 boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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