5,048 Shares in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Purchased by James Reed Financial Services Inc.

James Reed Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,048 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,264,000. Apple accounts for approximately 1.3% of James Reed Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its position in Apple by 4.0% in the third quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 70,347 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the period. JB Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 151,869 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,653 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in Apple by 9.1% in the third quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 66,872 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $15,581,000 after buying an additional 5,604 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp increased its holdings in Apple by 2.6% in the third quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp now owns 73,964 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $17,234,000 after buying an additional 1,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at $9,233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 6.2%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $210.79 on Tuesday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $207.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.19.

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

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price objective for the company. Argus raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $235.80.

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.