Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Rollins Financial’s Largest Position

Rollins Financial lowered its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 317,984 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 9,454 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 15.7% of Rollins Financial’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Rollins Financial’s holdings in Apple were worth $41,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MKT Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Silver Oak Advisory Group Inc. now owns 3,925 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 3D L Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. 3D L Capital Management LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Weik Capital Management lifted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Weik Capital Management now owns 25,238 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,407,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coyle Financial Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 26,125 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,572,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total value of $708,979.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,946 shares in the company, valued at $5,881,483.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total value of $708,979.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,946 shares in the company, valued at $5,881,483.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Atlantic Securities raised their target price on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Credit Suisse Group raised their target price on shares of Apple from $184.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday, March 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.74.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $174.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $165.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.17 and a 12 month high of $176.39.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $94.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.84 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 165.72% and a net margin of 24.49%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 4th that allows the company to buyback $90.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 15th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.30%.

Apple Profile

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.