Compass Advisory Group LLC Boosts Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Compass Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,381 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 1.1% of Compass Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Compass Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its position in shares of Apple by 70.2% during the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Cordant Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $132,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $182.74 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.78. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Apple from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 price target (up previously from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Maxim Group started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.11.

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.