Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Acquired by Versant Capital Management Inc

Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 28.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,227 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,938 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 1.2% of Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings in Apple were worth $4,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 132.8% in the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,283,000 after acquiring an additional 18,615 shares during the period. Finally, Sunpointe LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,782,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at $5,223,062.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 188,884 shares of company stock worth $38,092,387. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $227.18. The stock had a trading volume of 30,543,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,109,734. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.23. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.33, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $220.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.75.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 145.35% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple's payout ratio is 15.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Apple from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler Companies reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $233.63.

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.