Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Boosted by S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.8% of S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% 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 quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $201.56 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $202.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $220.85. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.40, a PEG ratio of 2.24 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 quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus 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.