Jessup Wealth Management Inc Boosts Stake in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Jessup Wealth Management Inc has increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 1.4%, now holding 95,727 shares valued at approximately $21.26 million.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $237.98 for Apple shares, with ratings varying from Strong Buy to Sell.
• Apple recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, resulting in a 0.5% dividend yield and a total annualized dividend of $1.04.

Jessup Wealth Management Inc grew its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 95,727 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 8.8% of Jessup Wealth Management Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Jessup Wealth Management Inc's holdings in Apple were worth $21,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.37.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock traded up $2.50 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $232.99. The company had a trading volume of 20,569,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,837,367. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.37, a PEG ratio of 2.39 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. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $214.45 and a 200 day moving average of $213.05.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current 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 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 15.78%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.