Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Strategic Planning Group LLC

Strategic Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 208,823 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,859 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 8.6% of Strategic Planning Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Strategic Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $35,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 14,395.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,119,470,000 after purchasing an additional 70,212,651 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after purchasing an additional 18,067,216 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 23,076.4% during the first quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,512,000 after buying an additional 9,200,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,430,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,815,594,000 after buying an additional 5,331,439 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now 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 have sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Maxim Group boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Melius Research increased their price objective on Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Erste Group Bank raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.71.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $210.62 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 $192.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 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 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

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.