Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Holdings Lifted by WealthCare Investment Partners LLC

WealthCare Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,062 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its stake in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. lifted its position in Apple by 657.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Apple from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $216.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Up 0.6 %

AAPL stock opened at $221.55 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $221.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.60.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced 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 during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

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

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.