Altus Wealth Management LLC Has $1.62 Million Stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Altus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 27.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,453 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,048 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 0.9% of Altus Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Altus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $1,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Apple Trading Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $216.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $192.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $220.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. 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 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.