Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Visionary Horizons LLC

Visionary Horizons LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,780 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 0.7% of Visionary Horizons LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Visionary Horizons LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 192,355 shares of company stock worth $34,771,329 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $221.55 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $221.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.60.

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

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.