Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Raised by Naples Global Advisors LLC

Naples Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,895 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 4.0% of Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $42,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.95.

Apple Stock Up 2.2%

AAPL stock opened at $212.44 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.09, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average is $203.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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 dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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.