Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by GoalVest Advisory LLC

GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 53.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,835 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,757 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 0.6% of GoalVest Advisory LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Flagstone Financial Management grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Asset Planning Corporation lifted its position in Apple by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Stableford Capital II LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the first quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 17,156 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $221.55 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $194.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.60. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $221.55.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. Finally, Maxim Group increased their target price on shares of Apple from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.71.

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.