BLB&B Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 3.0%, making Apple its 6th largest holding with approximately $70.3 million worth of shares.
• Apple has recently seen significant institutional investments, including a new stake from Norges Bank valued at $46.9 billion and a dramatic increase in ownership by GAMMA Investing LLC.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share and authorized a stock repurchase plan allowing for the buyback of up to $100 billion in shares.

BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 316,530 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 9,257 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 3.6% of BLB&B Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. BLB&B Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $70,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $0.9810 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $229.9090. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,787,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,647,684. Apple Inc. has a one year low of $169.21 and a one year high of $260.10. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50-day moving average is $210.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, August 7th. China Renaissance started coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.60.

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.