Hartline Investment Corp Buys 260,747 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Hartline Investment Corp boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 1,320.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 280,491 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 260,747 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 8.3% of Hartline Investment Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings in Apple were worth $36,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Apple by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 8,217 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $989,000. Wrapmanager Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 23,780 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,090,000 after acquiring an additional 1,314 shares in the last quarter. Arjuna Capital increased its stake in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 137,759 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $17,899,000 after acquiring an additional 5,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 1,187,695 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $154,317,000 after acquiring an additional 5,188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $171.56 on Wednesday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.17 and a fifty-two week high of $176.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.11.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 4th that permits the company to buyback $90.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. UBS Group set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, April 3rd. Atlantic Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total value of $708,979.92. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,881,483.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total transaction of $708,979.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,881,483.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 69,996 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.25, for a total value of $11,566,839.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,790,980.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.