Whelan Financial Purchases 1,841 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Whelan Financial has increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 6.3% in the first quarter, now owning a total of 30,844 shares valued at approximately $6.85 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Apple, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.98.
• Apple recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share and announced a $100 billion share repurchase program, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Whelan Financial raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,844 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 1,841 shares during the period. Apple comprises approximately 2.7% of Whelan Financial's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Whelan Financial's holdings in Apple were worth $6,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,199,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 28.3% during the first quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $935,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 2.8% during the first quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,045,000 after acquiring an additional 5,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple by 3,368.2% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $113,062,000 after acquiring an additional 438,471 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.98.

Apple Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $2.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $227.76. 42,431,176 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. The stock's 50 day moving average is $212.52 and its 200-day moving average is $213.09. The company has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.