Stokes Capital Advisors LLC Has $10.69 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,114 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.7% of Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 111,858 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $28,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its stake in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Uncommon Cents Investing LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 10,457 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,619,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $213.36 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $203.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap 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 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. UBS Group set a $210.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.