Archford Capital Strategies LLC Has $19.81 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Archford Capital Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 22.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 89,170 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 16,302 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.9% of Archford Capital Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Archford Capital Strategies LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $19,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Scotiabank cut Apple to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.2%

AAPL stock opened at $202.92 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $205.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.24. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.