Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Purchased by 44 Wealth Management LLC

44 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,366 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.0% of 44 Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. 44 Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $5,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.6% in the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,199,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Avid Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. TruWealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,045,000 after purchasing an additional 5,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 3,368.2% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $113,062,000 after purchasing an additional 438,471 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America increased their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.60.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $226.01 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $211.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple 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.