Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC Invests $369,000 in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,662 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $369,000. Apple makes up about 0.3% of Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $231.59 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.