VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Invests $2.82 Million in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,821,000. Apple accounts for about 1.0% of VSM Wealth Advisory LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. O Connor Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $199.01. The stock had a trading volume of 70,744,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,305,347. The business's fifty day moving average is $203.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.59, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Maxim Group lifted their price target on Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Apple from $236.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.