VAUGHAN & Co SECURITIES INC. Acquires 362 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

VAUGHAN & Co SECURITIES INC. raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,700 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 1.6% of VAUGHAN & Co SECURITIES INC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. VAUGHAN & Co SECURITIES INC.’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headinvest LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.7% during the third quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 53,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,236,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 75,110 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,461,000 after acquiring an additional 10,425 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of Apple by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 4,307,068 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $829,240,000 after purchasing an additional 279,311 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management increased its position in shares of Apple by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 37,178 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 673,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $115,284,000 after purchasing an additional 24,634 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $183.38 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $172.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 153.25% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.93%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.11.

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.