Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Boosted by U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 320,854 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,058 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 1.9% of U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $41,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth $1,890,884,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Apple by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 30,235,823 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,178,590,000 after buying an additional 10,471,342 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,995,750 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $221,753,959,000 after buying an additional 8,734,393 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $1,075,599,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 71,060,708 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,407,910,000 after purchasing an additional 8,230,300 shares during the period. 57.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.92, for a total transaction of $32,984.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 177,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,299,192.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.92, for a total transaction of $32,984.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 177,657 shares in the company, valued at $29,299,192.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total value of $708,979.92. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,881,483.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $175.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.75 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.17 and a 52-week high of $176.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $164.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.43.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. Apple had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 165.72%. The firm had revenue of $94.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Apple from $170.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Atlantic Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $125.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.74.

About Apple

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.