Financial Life Advisors Invests $212,000 in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Financial Life Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,103 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. High Pines Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.7% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation increased its stake in Apple by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $214.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $220.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.36.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during 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 revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

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 given a $0.25 dividend. 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 0.47%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Maxim Group began coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. One equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 accessible through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Company 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.