Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC Has $49.94 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 131.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 259,389 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 147,132 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 1.9% of Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $49,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Corporation increased its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 11,224 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock traded up $1.52 on Wednesday, hitting $195.87. 54,081,786 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 60,340,152. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.25. 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 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $199.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.37.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AAPL. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $196.00 price objective (up from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $216.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.