Virtus Wealth Solutions LLC Acquires 562 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Virtus Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,568 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for approximately 1.0% of Virtus Wealth Solutions LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Virtus Wealth Solutions LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $3,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 4.2%

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $229.35 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The company has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.21.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.78%.

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

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.