Parker Financial LLC Boosts Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Parker Financial LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,324 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 0.6% of Parker Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Parker Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. raised its position in Apple by 5.5% during the third quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. now owns 11,464 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in Apple by 13.6% during the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 172,823 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $29,589,000 after purchasing an additional 20,737 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC raised its position in Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 53,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,236,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC raised its position in Apple by 2.2% during the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 50,943 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Apple by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 75,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,461,000 after purchasing an additional 10,425 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Redburn Partners downgraded Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 253,915 shares of company stock valued at $44,202,868. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Up 4.3 %

Apple stock opened at $175.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $159.78 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $176.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.15.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.