Smith Salley Wealth Management Has $88.51 Million Position in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Smith Salley Wealth Management has increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 1.1%, making it their largest position, with holdings valued at approximately $88.5 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and UBS AM, have significantly increased their stakes in Apple, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Apple reported a 9.6% increase in revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share of $1.57, surpassing analyst expectations during their last quarterly earnings report.

Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 398,461 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,509 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 5.8% of Smith Salley Wealth Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Smith Salley Wealth Management's holdings in Apple were worth $88,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its stake in shares of Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $230.76. The company had a trading volume of 8,640,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,554,328. The business has a fifty day moving average of $210.28 and a 200-day moving average of $212.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 25th. China Renaissance assumed 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, Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.