HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Purchases Shares of 911,214 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 911,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $175,436,000. Apple comprises 13.2% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. grew 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 during the period. 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 raised its position 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 worth $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Asset Planning Corporation lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC grew its position in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were 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 $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 1.1 %

AAPL stock opened at $214.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.36. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $220.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $196.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.06.

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.