Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Prosperity Financial Group Inc.’s Largest Position

Prosperity Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 57,694 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 634 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 7.2% of Prosperity Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Prosperity Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cascade Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 187,931 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $47,062,000 after buying an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $23,739,000. AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 632,279 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $158,335,000 after buying an additional 161,715 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 362.3% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 5,118 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after buying an additional 4,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cushing Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Argus upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.80.

Apple Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $202.09 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $205.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.26. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

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.