Sound Income Strategies LLC Purchases 2,273 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 77,383 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,273 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $13,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its position in Apple by 1.0% in the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 25,281 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,335,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 66,178 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,286 shares in the last quarter. Kwmg LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 10,640 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Richelieu Gestion SA lifted its position in Apple by 111.9% during the first quarter. Richelieu Gestion SA now owns 19,121 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,279,000 after purchasing an additional 10,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 9.1% in the first quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,841 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,545,000 after buying an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $216.75 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $192.13 and its 200 day moving average is $185.31.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 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 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $216.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Itau BBA Securities raised Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.71.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, 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 value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 192,355 shares of company stock worth $34,771,329. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.