Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lifted by Timber Creek Capital Management LLC

Timber Creek Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 57,274 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 2,115 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 3.1% of Timber Creek Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its holdings in Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $196.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Maxim Group assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush upped their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.06.

Apple Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $214.29 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $220.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. 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 (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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