Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Walden Wealth Partners LLC

Walden Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,785 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Apple makes up 3.6% of Walden Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Walden Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $6,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14,395.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $136,119,470,000 after purchasing an additional 70,212,651 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after purchasing an additional 18,067,216 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 130.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,430,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,815,594,000 after purchasing an additional 5,331,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $560,388,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AAPL. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.83.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $208.14 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $220.20. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.85.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.