Proffitt & Goodson Inc. Has $4.46 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Proffitt & Goodson Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,080 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,398 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 0.7% of Proffitt & Goodson Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Proffitt & Goodson Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Salus Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3.9% during the first quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its stake in Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 8,720 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Mission Hills Financial Advisory LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $227.76 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $212.52 and its 200 day moving average is $212.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company’s 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. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.98.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the business’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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.