R. W. Roge & Company Inc. Buys 1,013 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

R. W. Roge & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,882 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.5% of R. W. Roge & Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. R. W. Roge & Company Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its position in Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp grew its position in Apple by 70.2% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 27.7% in the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $132,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Maxim Group began coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.11.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $183.38 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $172.17 and a 200-day moving average of $181.67. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 153.25% 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.93%.

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.