Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lifted by Merriman Wealth Management LLC

Merriman Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,242 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,496 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 0.8% of Merriman Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Merriman Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $16,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Apple by 20.0% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 2,615,701 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $456,728,000 after buying an additional 435,891 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 240,628 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,016,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Markel Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.7% during the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 1,206,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $210,752,000 after buying an additional 8,450 shares in the last quarter. Camden Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 9.2% during the first quarter. Camden Capital LLC now owns 156,364 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $27,305,000 after buying an additional 13,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Island Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% during the first quarter. Harbor Island Capital LLC now owns 135,325 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $23,629,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 58.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $187.65 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.17 and a 12 month high of $198.23. The company’s fifty day moving average is $186.75 and its 200-day moving average is $172.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The iPhone maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Apple had a net margin of 24.68% and a return on equity of 164.92%. The business had revenue of $81.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. Apple’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, August 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 11th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.13%.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Atlantic Securities raised their target price on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 5th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 4th. DA Davidson cut shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $193.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Apple from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.86.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 15,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.56, for a total value of $2,753,216.64. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,363,619.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Company Profile

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.