65,804 Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Purchased by Antonelli Financial Advisors LLC

Antonelli Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 65,804 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $14,617,000. Apple comprises 11.8% of Antonelli Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its stake in Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC increased its stake in Apple by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,836,000 after buying an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.25.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $202.38 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $205.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.60. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.17.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 172.48% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.