Legacy Financial Strategies LLC Purchases 1,155 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Legacy Financial Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 1.5% of Legacy Financial Strategies LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $136,119,470,000 after purchasing an additional 70,212,651 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,430,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,815,594,000 after purchasing an additional 5,331,439 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $560,388,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $487,435,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,519,244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,709 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.8 %

AAPL opened at $190.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.69, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $175.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.93.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 371,270 shares of company stock valued at $64,605,696 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 25th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.71.

Apple Company 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.