Founders Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Founders Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,814 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for 3.3% of Founders Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Founders Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $16,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. High Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% in 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 period. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in 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 in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson started coverage on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler Companies cut Apple to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.05.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $166.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s fifty day moving average is $173.88 and its 200-day moving average is $182.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.80 and a 12 month high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The firm had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

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.