WT Wealth Management Increases Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

WT Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 8.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,563 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,556 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 2.7% of WT Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. WT Wealth Management’s holdings in Apple were worth $9,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $842,412,558.95. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Argus set a $325.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price objective (up previously from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.51.

Apple Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $274.11 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.81. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 26.92% and a return on equity of 164.05%. The firm had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

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.