Sherwood Financial Partners LLC Invests $250,000 in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sherwood Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 999 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000. Apple makes up about 0.2% of Sherwood Financial Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $163,000. Castleark Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 677,429 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $169,642,000 after buying an additional 97,730 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 3,314,937 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $830,127,000 after buying an additional 498,550 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 372,938 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $93,391,000 after acquiring an additional 6,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,621 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,668,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $195.64 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $202.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.47, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

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

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. KeyCorp raised Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Finally, Maxim Group raised their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.