Rovin Capital UT ADV Acquires 4,463 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Rovin Capital UT ADV grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 15.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,723 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,463 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.4% of Rovin Capital UT ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Rovin Capital UT ADV’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its stake in Apple by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 37,307 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,633,000 after buying an additional 5,784 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in Apple by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 61,910 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,752,000 after buying an additional 2,389 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Apple by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 230,437 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $51,187,000 after buying an additional 23,926 shares during the period. Heritage Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Heritage Investment Group Inc. now owns 18,433 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,095,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Alta Advisers Ltd raised its stake in Apple by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 77,080 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $17,122,000 after buying an additional 26,630 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $231.59 on Friday. 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 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $209.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.14. 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.