Planning Directions Inc. Acquires 773 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Planning Directions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,975 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 773 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 4.2% of Planning Directions Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Planning Directions Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $227.76 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $212.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.82.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.98.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Apple

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.