Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Towerpoint Wealth LLC

Towerpoint Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 22.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,757 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,670 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.2% of Towerpoint Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Towerpoint Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its position 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 worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. increased its position 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 worth $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its position 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 worth $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $3,992,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a report 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.39.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $201.08 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $202.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 earned $1.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. 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 has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.