Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s 7th Largest Position

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,809 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,593 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.9% of Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 111,858 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $28,012,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its holdings in Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smart Money Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,826,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $170.62 to $188.32 in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.95.

Insider Transactions at Apple

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

Apple Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $213.36 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is a boost 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 yield of 0.49%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.