Sweeney & Michel LLC Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Sweeney & Michel LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 73,315 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $13,741,000. Apple makes up about 6.1% of Sweeney & Michel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 132.8% in the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,283,000 after purchasing an additional 18,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunpointe LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $4,782,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $225.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $219.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.40. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 145.35%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Evercore ISI reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, July 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Moffett Nathanson assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.63.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 188,884 shares of company stock valued at $38,092,387 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.