World Investment Advisors Increases Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Apple by 1.6%, holding a total of 615,532 shares valued at approximately $136.7 million, making it the firm's largest holding.
• Apple reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.57 per share and revenue of $94.04 billion for the last quarter, representing a 9.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share and a significant stock buyback plan authorizing repurchases of up to $100 billion in shares, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 615,532 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 9,762 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 3.5% of World Investment Advisors' portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Apple were worth $136,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,199,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,337,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,045,000 after buying an additional 5,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp lifted its position in shares of Apple by 3,368.2% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $113,062,000 after buying an additional 438,471 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded up $2.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $227.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 42,431,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $212.52 and a 200 day moving average of $213.09. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.98.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Company 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.