Tassel Capital Management Inc. Makes New $344,000 Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Tassel Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,375 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $344,000. Apple comprises approximately 0.3% of Tassel Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth about $288,000. Simmons Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.6% during the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 132,641 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $30,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth about $4,972,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.3% during the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695 shares during the period. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.9% during the third quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 3,723,104 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $876,483,000 after purchasing an additional 103,856 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $208.78 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $205.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $226.57. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

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

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.80.

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.