Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Ferguson Shapiro LLC

Ferguson Shapiro LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 33,768 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 886 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 3.1% of Ferguson Shapiro LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Ferguson Shapiro LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cassia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the period. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $3,148,000. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 2,340,129 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $304,053,000 after purchasing an additional 115,929 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $563,000. Finally, Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 105,200 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,072,000 after purchasing an additional 4,402 shares in the last quarter. 57.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at $78,253,004.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 56,072 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.17, for a total value of $9,261,412.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,052 shares in the company, valued at $541,766,188.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Apple from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Loop Capital cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.74.

Apple Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $171.56 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.17 and a 1-year high of $176.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $94.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.84 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 165.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.30%.

Apple Company 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.