Walden Wealth Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 36,698 Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Walden Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 36,698 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $7,065,000. Apple comprises approximately 4.4% of Walden Wealth Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Apple by 1.4% during the 4th 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. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after acquiring an additional 2,018,010 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 14,395.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,119,470,000 after acquiring an additional 70,212,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Apple by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 60,651,275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,677,190,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,360 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $216.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25. 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 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $220.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $184.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.19.

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

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Maxim Group assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson raised shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $230.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $207.47.

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.