Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 307,352 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 2,926 shares during the period. Apple makes up approximately 2.6% of Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $68,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC boosted its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Elite Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $211.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.12.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% 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 hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. This represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $235.27.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.