Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Raised by Shorepath Capital Management LLC

Shorepath Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 32.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 45,394 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 11,082 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 6.2% of Shorepath Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Shorepath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation lifted its stake in Apple by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $216.75 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $220.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.31.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 192,355 shares of company stock worth $34,771,329. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.71.

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.