Puff Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Puff Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 20,908 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $5,236,000. Apple comprises 8.6% of Puff Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $196.79 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.77 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $2.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $219.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Moffett Nathanson reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price target (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.