Bright Rock Capital Management LLC Acquires 12,000 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Bright Rock Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 24.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,000 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 2.2% of Bright Rock Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $10,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $214.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $220.20. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $190.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. This is an increase 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 is 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on AAPL shares. DA Davidson raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.29.

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.