Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Founders Capital Management LLC

Founders Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,095 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,802 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 3.4% of Founders Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Founders Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple 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 in the company, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% 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 Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $211.16 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results 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 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 analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $170.62 to $188.32 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group set a $210.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.27.

Apple 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.