Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC

CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 56.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,679 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,551 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 2.5% of CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. CogentBlue Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,260,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,992,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,794,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.11.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

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

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost 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 was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.