Moran Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,213 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $7,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $140,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Trading Down 0.2%

Apple stock opened at $202.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $205.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.24. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp raised Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.25.

Apple 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.