Retirement Solution Inc. Acquires 2,062 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Retirement Solution Inc. raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 17.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,686 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,062 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 0.8% of Retirement Solution Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Retirement Solution Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.44.

Apple Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $189.98 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $175.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.26.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 371,270 shares of company stock valued at $64,605,696. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.