Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC Takes $1.97 Million Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,439 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,965,000. Apple makes up approximately 1.8% of Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,643 shares in the last quarter. Headinvest LLC raised its position in Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 53,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,236,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,406,000. Finally, Barden Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 132.8% during the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,283,000 after purchasing an additional 18,615 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Apple stock opened at $214.29 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.57. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $220.20. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders 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 represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple 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 transaction, the senior vice president now 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Apple from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $216.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Maxim Group initiated coverage on Apple in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.06.

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.