Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. Acquires 1,247 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,341 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,247 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 6.2% of Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C.’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $213.36 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.86. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share 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 167.24%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Apple declared 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 purchase 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 stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp raised shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.95.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.