Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Position Lifted by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 18.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 110,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,108 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 2.1% of Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $19,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in Apple by 4.6% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 249,461 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,710,000 after acquiring an additional 10,955 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in Apple by 2.1% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,020,415 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $174,705,000 after acquiring an additional 21,458 shares in the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 5.2% in the third quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 535,030 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $91,603,000 after acquiring an additional 26,218 shares in the last quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 16.6% in the third quarter. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. grew its position in Apple by 0.5% in the third quarter. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. now owns 39,969 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $220.27 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $193.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.44. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.07 and a fifty-two week high of $220.38. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm 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%. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding 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 generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Maxim Group raised their price target on shares of Apple from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of 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 issued a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.