Milestone Asset Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Milestone Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 5,440 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $768,000. Apple comprises 0.5% of Milestone Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Robinson Value Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 249 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC lifted its position in Apple by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Align Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. 57.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $171.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.17 and a 12 month high of $176.39. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $165.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. The company 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%. The business’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on AAPL shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Sunday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday. Bank of America upped their target price on Apple from $173.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total value of $29,991,744.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,881,483.96. 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.

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.