Sweeney & Michel LLC purchased a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 73,315 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $13,741,000. Apple accounts for 6.1% of Sweeney & Michel LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital raised Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com raised Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.63.
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Apple Stock Up 0.3 %
NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $226.51. The company had a trading volume of 30,243,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,739,297. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.23, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $219.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.69. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Apple Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.
Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling at Apple
In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 188,884 shares of company stock worth $38,092,387 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.
Apple Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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