Parkside Investments LLC Raises Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Parkside Investments LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 53.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,533 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,500 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 2.5% of Parkside Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Parkside Investments LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $17,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $209.11 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $203.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $216.45. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 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 firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.27.

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.