Apple Inc. $AAPL Position Lifted by Capital Investment Counsel Inc

Key Points

• Capital Investment Counsel Inc increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 18.1%, making it the largest position in their investment portfolio, worth approximately $127.77 million.
• Analyst ratings show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" for Apple, with a price target of $237.60, while several analysts have recently issued mixed ratings and target price adjustments.
• Apple announced a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share and initiated a share buyback plan of up to $100 billion, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Capital Investment Counsel Inc grew its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 18.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 575,216 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 88,214 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 19.1% of Capital Investment Counsel Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Capital Investment Counsel Inc's holdings in Apple were worth $127,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded up $3.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $228.41. The stock had a trading volume of 24,751,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,281,676. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $211.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.13. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.64, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.16.

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

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Scotiabank lowered Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.