BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 45.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,995 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,865 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 0.8% of BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. grew its position in Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $210.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.23 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.40. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $220.20. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 346,270 shares of company stock valued at $60,880,196 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.71.

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.