Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C.’s 4th Largest Position

Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,178 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,286 shares during the period. Apple makes up 6.2% of Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C.’s holdings in Apple were worth $11,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of 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 buying an additional 70,212,651 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 worth $253,766,929,000 after buying an additional 18,067,216 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 23,076.4% in the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,584,512,000 after acquiring an additional 9,200,345 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,430,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,815,594,000 after acquiring an additional 5,331,439 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 192,355 shares of company stock worth $34,771,329. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $216.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $192.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.31. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $220.20. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Melius Research increased their price target on shares of Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $196.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.71.

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.