Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Position Increased by Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 150.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,991 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 34,868 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 3.0% of Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc's holdings in Apple were worth $12,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Allstate Corp increased its position in shares of Apple by 3,368.2% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $113,062,000 after buying an additional 438,471 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Apple by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $192,700,000 after buying an additional 83,997 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,308,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the period. Finally, Berkshire Bank boosted its position in Apple by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 89,580 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $22,433,000 after acquiring an additional 2,360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $234.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 $941,214. This trade 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.

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL stock traded up $0.92 during trading on Thursday, reaching $213.36. The stock had a trading volume of 34,955,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,618,682. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.23, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock's 50 day moving average is $203.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.40. 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 quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

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

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.