Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Has $76.32 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 396,427 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 17,987 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 6.2% of Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $76,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 425,237 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $81,871,000 after acquiring an additional 4,159 shares during the last quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC now owns 28,460 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,479,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,938 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,919,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 252,219 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $48,560,000 after acquiring an additional 20,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crake Asset Management LLP grew its position in Apple by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Crake Asset Management LLP now owns 261,504 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $50,347,000 after acquiring an additional 78,500 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL traded up $2.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $196.89. 53,045,460 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 60,100,234. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $199.62. The business's 50 day moving average price is $179.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.45.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.59.

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.