Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Boosted by Financial Architects Inc

Financial Architects Inc boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 170,937 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 454 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 3.7% of Financial Architects Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Financial Architects Inc’s holdings in Apple were worth $22,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Robinson Value Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Align Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.60% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Apple Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $172.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $2.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.29. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.17 and a 52 week high of $176.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.40.

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

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 4th that permits the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th were given a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Apple from $173.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Apple from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Apple in a research note on Sunday, March 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $199.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.74.

About Apple

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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.