Stephens Consulting LLC Increases Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Stephens Consulting LLC grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,211 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 0.7% of Stephens Consulting LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Stephens Consulting LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $212.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $204.57 and a 200 day moving average of $215.41. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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 given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. China Renaissance initiated coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.11.

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.