36,945 Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Purchased by Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC

Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 36,945 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $7,113,000. Apple accounts for approximately 7.1% of Processus Wealth & Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,975,481 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $337,416,000 after purchasing an additional 79,297 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 1.2% in the third quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 140,244 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $24,011,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Chapman Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 4.7% in the third quarter. Chapman Investment Management LLC now owns 47,547 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,141,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134 shares during the period. Facet Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Facet Wealth Inc. now owns 107,685 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $18,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 78,488 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,438,000 after acquiring an additional 3,648 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $212.49 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $220.20. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Maxim Group started coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.47.

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.