Fountainhead AM LLC Increases Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Fountainhead AM LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 48,212 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,647 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.5% of Fountainhead AM LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Fountainhead AM LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $189.98 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $199.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 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. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.04.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 25th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $196.00 target price (up previously from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.44.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, 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 transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 371,270 shares of company stock valued at $64,605,696 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.