Bcwm LLC Purchases New Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Bcwm LLC purchased a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 30,917 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $7,742,000. Apple accounts for 2.8% of Bcwm LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Apple by 10.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 584,010,284 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,074,372,000 after buying an additional 55,935,105 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after buying an additional 20,966,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 333,857,500 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $77,542,863,000 after buying an additional 20,483,787 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock opened at $203.92 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $201.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.12.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,569 shares in the company, valued at $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.02.

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.