Kozak & Associates Inc. Has $18.27 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,204 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 925 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 4.5% of Kozak & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Kozak & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $18,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its stake 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 valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,836,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Market Street Wealth Management Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Market Street Wealth Management Advisors LLC now owns 14,065 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,522,000 after buying an additional 1,833 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $170.62 to $188.32 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.27.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $211.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $203.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $217.12.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $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.

About Apple

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.