Anchor Investment Management LLC Has $30.13 Million Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in Apple Inc. by 4.5% in Q1, holding 135,648 shares valued at approximately $30.1 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Oriental Harbor Investment Fund, which grew its stake in Apple by 37.5%, have also increased their investments in the company during the same period.
• Analysts maintain an average rating of "Moderate Buy" for Apple, with a price target of $240.80, highlighting differing opinions among brokerages regarding the stock's valuation.

Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,648 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 5,839 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 2.8% of Anchor Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Anchor Investment Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $30,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its holdings in Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AAPL. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Apple from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $240.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $4.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $234.07. 55,768,555 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 45,223,864. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.20. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.52, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.11.

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 firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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.