Krilogy Financial LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Krilogy Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 5,064 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 3.2% of Krilogy Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Krilogy Financial LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $37,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Flagstone Financial Management increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. High Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Asset Planning Corporation increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,120,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $181.71 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $172.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.72. 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 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $199.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.93%.

Apple declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Redburn Partners cut Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $196.00 price target (up from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Citigroup reduced their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities raised Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.