Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,015,952 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,748 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 5.7% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $174,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,986,000 after buying an additional 1,643 shares in the last quarter. Headinvest LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 53,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,236,000 after buying an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $38,406,000. Finally, Barden Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 132.8% in the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,283,000 after buying an additional 18,615 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 2.0 %

AAPL stock opened at $213.25 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $189.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.94. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $220.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Melius Research lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.29.

Insider Activity at Apple

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

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.