Smart Portfolios LLC Buys 499 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Smart Portfolios LLC grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,639 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.6% of Smart Portfolios LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Smart Portfolios LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.60.

Apple Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $227.18 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $3.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $207.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm 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 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

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.