waypoint wealth counsel Acquires 405 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

waypoint wealth counsel boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,282 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 405 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 4.4% of waypoint wealth counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. waypoint wealth counsel’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $213.12 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.34, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $205.84 and its 200 day moving average is $213.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for 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%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.25.

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.