Hapanowicz & Associates Financial Services Inc Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Hapanowicz & Associates Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 18.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,542 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. Apple makes up 0.4% of Hapanowicz & Associates Financial Services Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Hapanowicz & Associates Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake 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.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. UBS Group boosted 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, August 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.60.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $231.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.14, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $209.69 and its 200 day moving average is $213.14. 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 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

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. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. Apple’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.