Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Purchased by Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc.

Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 124.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,709 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,825 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.2% of Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Spectrum Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Briaud Financial Planning Inc increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc now owns 10,239 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,784,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 8,565 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,328,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Science Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $2,996,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 294,046 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $72,935,000 after purchasing an additional 12,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Long Short Global Small Cap Fund LP acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $40,736,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Scotiabank set a $330.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.74.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $308.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $269.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $268.63. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $193.46 and a 1-year high of $311.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.46 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.Apple’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.