Next Level Private LLC Buys 668 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Next Level Private LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,560 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 668 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.7% of Next Level Private LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Next Level Private LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.95.

Insider Activity

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

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $213.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $203.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $218.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.20%.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.