Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Increased by Paragon Financial Partners Inc.

Paragon Financial Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,950 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.3% of Paragon Financial Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Paragon Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after buying an additional 2,018,010 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 14,395.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,119,470,000 after purchasing an additional 70,212,651 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Apple by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,519,244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,709 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Apple by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 38,579,495 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,605,195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,696,576 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Apple by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 17,519,918 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,020,609,000 after purchasing an additional 287,329 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $182.74 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $199.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $172.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.78.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Redburn Atlantic cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, DZ Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.