Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Lifted by Westend Capital Management LLC

Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 5,126.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 67,684 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,389 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 5.2% of Westend Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Westend Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $14,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its position in Apple by 168.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 268 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its stake in Apple by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 188,884 shares of company stock valued at $38,092,387. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $227.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $220.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.04. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.07 and a 1 year high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Loop Capital raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.63.

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.