Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL – Get Rating) by 2.8% during the first quarter, reports HoldingsChannel.com. The fund held 70,125 shares of the iPhone maker after buying an additional 1,924 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.6% of Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. The holdings of Howard Financial Services LTD. in Apple were worth $12,245,000 when it was last filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also changed their holdings in AAPL. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings of Apple stock by 5,525.0% during the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 225 shares of the iPhone maker valued at $39,000 after buying 221 additional shares last quarter. Shore Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple stock during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. St. James Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple stock during the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Econ Financial Services Corp bought a new position in Apple stock during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Castle Financial & Retirement Planning Associates Inc. bought a new position in Apple stock during the fourth quarter worth $116,000. 57.98% of the shares are currently held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple shares up 1.1%

AAPL opened at $150.17 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.04 and a fifty-two week high of $182.94. The company has a debt ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company’s fifty-day moving average price is $142.54 and its two-hundred-day moving average price is $158.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.19.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last released quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 28. The iPhone maker reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.52 for the quarter, beating consensus analyst estimates of $1.43 by $0.09. The company posted revenue of $97.28 billion in the quarter, compared to $93.99 billion expected by analysts. Apple had a return on equity of 152.88% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company’s revenue increased 8.6% year over year. During the same period last year, the company made earnings per share of $1.40. On average, analysts expect Apple Inc. to post EPS of 6.09 for the current year.

Apple said its board launched a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 28 that allows the company to repurchase $90.00 billion worth of stock. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that a company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple increases its dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 12. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 9 received a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 6. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a dividend of $0.92 on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.94%.

Insider buying and selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 25,000 Apple shares in a trade on Wednesday, May 4. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.72, for a total transaction of $4,043,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 452,334 shares of the company, valued at $73,151,454.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, accessible via this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 8,000 Apple shares in a trade dated Monday, April 18. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.91, for a total value of $1,319,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,290 shares of the company, valued at $22,475,583.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, accessible via this link. Additionally, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 25,000 Apple shares in a trade dated Wednesday, May 4. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.72, for a total value of $4,043,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 452,334 shares of the company, valued at $73,151,454.48. The disclosure of this sale can be found here. Insiders of the company hold 0.06% of the shares of the company.

A Wall Street analyst gives his opinion

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company recently. Evercore ISI lowered its price target on Apple from $210.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a Tuesday, June 28 report. StockNews.com supported Apple’s coverage in a research report on Thursday, March 31. They set a “holding” rating for the company. Bank of America cut its price target on Apple from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a Thursday, May 19 research report. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a price target of $190.00 on Apple stock in a Wednesday, June 8 research report. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a price target of $200.00 on Apple in a Friday, July 1 research report. Nine investment analysts gave the stock a hold rating, twenty-four gave the company a buy rating and one gave the company a high buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.49.

About Apple

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Apple Inc designs, manufactures and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories worldwide. It also sells various related services. Additionally, the company offers iPhone, a range of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a range of versatile tablets; AirPods Max, an over-ear wireless headset; and wearables, home and accessories including AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, HomePod and iPod touch.

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