Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Salomon & Ludwin LLC

Key Points

• Salomon & Ludwin LLC has increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 4.0% in Q1, now owning 61,910 shares valued at approximately $13.75 million.
• Institutional investors own 67.73% of Apple's stock, with Vanguard Group and Northern Trust making notable increases to their positions during the fourth quarter.
• Apple recently approved a $100 billion share buyback program, indicating confidence from its board in the company's value, alongside declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share.

Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 2,389 shares during the period. Apple makes up 1.5% of Salomon & Ludwin LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Salomon & Ludwin LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $13,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $147,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital dropped their price objective 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. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.9810 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $229.9090. 20,787,359 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,647,684. 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 company's 50 day moving average price is $210.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $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. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign 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.