ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 165.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,228 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 15,108 shares during the period. Apple comprises 1.8% of ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $4,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Better Money Decisions LLC raised its position in Apple by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 18,057 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,477,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 359,991 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $69,309,000 after buying an additional 2,488 shares in the last quarter. Clay Northam Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Clay Northam Wealth Management LLC now owns 57,409 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $11,053,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. BetterWealth LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. BetterWealth LLC now owns 153,368 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $29,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH raised its stake in shares of Apple by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH now owns 4,811 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 188,884 shares of company stock worth $38,092,387 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Apple from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Loop Capital upgraded Apple from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. DA Davidson raised Apple from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $200.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Raymond James upped their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on Apple from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.63.

Apple Stock Up 1.0 %

Apple stock traded up $2.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $226.84. The stock had a trading volume of 38,617,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,303,297. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $220.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.40. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 145.35%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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