Dodds Wealth LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Dodds Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,707 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 0.9% of Dodds Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Dodds Wealth LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flagstone Financial Management lifted its holdings in Apple by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Stableford Capital II LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 17,156 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Kwmg LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.6% during the first quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 10,640 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,825,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Greylin Investment Management Inc grew its position in Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Greylin Investment Management Inc now owns 16,711 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,866,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 20,036 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,436,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $226.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.23. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $220.32 and its 200-day moving average is $194.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 145.35%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Melius Research raised their target price on shares of Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.63.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 188,884 shares of company stock worth $38,092,387. 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.