Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. Purchases 3,449 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Riggs Asset Management Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 6.8% during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 54,126 shares valued at approximately $12 million.
• Apple reported $1.57 earnings per share, exceeding analysts’ expectations, with revenues hitting $94.04 billion in the latest quarter, a 9.6% year-over-year increase.
• After a $100 billion stock buyback plan was announced, Apple also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, yielding 0.5% annually.

Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,126 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 3,449 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 3.4% of Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $12,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the first quarter valued at $58,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Apple stock traded up $2.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $227.76. 42,431,176 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,854,304. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $212.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10.

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. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AAPL. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.98.

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.