Financial Advisory Corp Invests $2.28 Million in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,112 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,282,000. Apple comprises approximately 0.4% of Financial Advisory Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $201.00 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $202.35 and its 200-day moving average is $221.71. The stock has a market cap of $3.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was 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 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.86.

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.