Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lifted by Nvest Financial LLC

Nvest Financial LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,386 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 3.9% of Nvest Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Nvest Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $85,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 100.6% in the 4th quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 483 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 83,965 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $230.54 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.85, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $233.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.44. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Company 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.