Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Holdings Lifted by Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc.

Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 54,126 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,449 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 3.4% of Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 28.3% in the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,337,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. TruWealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,045,000 after buying an additional 5,120 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp raised its position in Apple by 3,368.2% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $113,062,000 after buying an additional 438,471 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.3%

AAPL stock opened at $227.76 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.96.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company 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%.Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.98.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.