Investment Partners LTD. Increases Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Investment Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,543 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.2% of Investment Partners LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Investment Partners LTD.’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $227.16 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $213.09 and a 200 day moving average of $212.81. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated 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 purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors 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 given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. UBS Group increased their price target 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 increased their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.98.

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.