Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Raised by HF Advisory Group LLC

HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,604 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 69 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its stake in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th 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 period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its stake in 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 valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Maxim Group started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.62.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded down $3.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $170.33. 65,843,830 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 60,583,082. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $172.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.71. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $199.62. The company has a market cap of $2.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.27.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The business had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.95%.

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.