Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Raised by NewEdge Wealth LLC

NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 808,709 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 112,980 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 4.0% of NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $155,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. PayPay Securities Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 70.2% in the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. raised its holdings in Apple by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 645 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $111,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $184.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.79. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Maxim Group initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.