Pinnacle Bank acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 13,387 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,924,000. Apple makes up about 1.4% of Pinnacle Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.8% in the first quarter. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC now owns 2,378 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Noven Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Noven Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,396 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter.
Cordasco Financial Network raised its stake in Apple by 1.0% in the first quarter. Cordasco Financial Network now owns 3,184 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Wall Street Access Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Wall Street Access Asset Management LLC now owns 18,345 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,124,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter.
Finally, Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the first quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 24,371 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,501,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 61.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) traded up 0.53% during trading on Friday, reaching $156.39. 20,559,852 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.53 and a 52 week high of $157.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $147.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $142.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $808.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 1.31.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $45.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.94 billion. Apple had a net margin of 20.87% and a return on equity of 35.40%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post $9.00 EPS for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 14th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 28.64%.
Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 6.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Apple from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities set a $120.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target (up previously from $164.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 12th.
Cowen and Company reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, May 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.57.
In related news, insider Angela J. Ahrendts sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.98, for a total transaction of $11,098,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 154,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,806,085.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC.
Also, insider Luca Maestri sold 4,757 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.70, for a total transaction of $735,907.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,145.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 305,500 shares of company stock valued at $46,455,746 over the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
By: Tristan Rich (The Markets Daily).
Photo: Morrissey Engineering.
Review: Emerging Market Formulations & Research Unit, Flagship Records.