Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Acquired by Woodward Diversified Capital LLC

Key Points

• Woodward Diversified Capital LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 33.5% during the second quarter, acquiring a total of 50,302 shares, which is now its second largest holding.
• Apple Inc. reported a net margin of 24.30% and earnings per share of $1.57 for the last quarter, outperforming analyst expectations for both revenue and earnings.
• A number of analysts have issued varying ratings for Apple, with a consensus average price target of $252.47 and a significant number recommending it as a Moderate Buy.

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,302 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 12,613 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 5.2% of Woodward Diversified Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $10,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at $58,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth about $99,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. Melius Research set a $290.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Apple from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $205.82 to $205.16 in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Moffett Nathanson upgraded Apple from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Apple from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $252.47.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 43,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total transaction of $11,071,116.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,181,866.93. The trade was a 23.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 259,121 shares of company stock worth $65,358,981. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $262.77 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $242.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $217.74. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.09. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $265.29.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

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.

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