Next Capital Management LLC Purchases 683 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Next Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,508 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the period. Apple comprises 2.9% of Next Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Next Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. High Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Asset Planning Corporation lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, MKT Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Redburn Atlantic cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Bank of America raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.08.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $172.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $162.80 and a 52 week high of $199.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.32.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Apple Profile

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.