Quartz Partners LLC Buys 470 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Quartz Partners LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,629 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.1% of Quartz Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Quartz Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth $77,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $259.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Maxim Group increased their target price on Apple to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.17.

Apple Stock Down 3.7 %

AAPL opened at $205.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $228.61. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.