Hoge Financial Services LLC Raises Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Hoge Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,744 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 0.9% of Hoge Financial Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Hoge Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $213.76 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $204.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.11.

Apple Company 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.