Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stake Lifted by Cwm LLC

CWM LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,954,296 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 69,569 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 4.1% of CWM LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. CWM LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $335,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its position in Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its position in Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 54,732 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Wedbush boosted their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.06.

Apple Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Apple stock traded down $4.61 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $209.68. 86,106,490 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 63,615,344. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $220.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $187.25 and a 200-day moving average of $184.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

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.