Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Boosted by American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP

American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP boosted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,612 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 3.7% of American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $211.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.20. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $204.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.85.

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.11.

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.