Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,641 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,164,000. Apple makes up 1.9% of Littlejohn Financial Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. O Connor Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock traded up $2.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $196.79. 51,328,536 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,825,645. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.77 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $219.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $230.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $202.33 to $167.88 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Loop Capital lowered Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $263.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total transaction of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. 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.