Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Has $34.64 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 39.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 201,982 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,456 shares during the period. Apple accounts for 1.1% of Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $34,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 53,155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,236,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $38,406,000. Finally, Barden Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 132.8% during the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,283,000 after purchasing an additional 18,615 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the business’s 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 $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $221.55 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $221.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $194.21 and its 200-day moving average is $185.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on Apple from $178.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.71.

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.