Narwhal Capital Management Grows Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Narwhal Capital Management increased its stake in Apple Inc. by 1.2% during the first quarter, owning 277,333 shares valued at approximately $61.6 million, making it the firm's second-largest position.
• Apple's recent earnings report showed earnings per share of $1.57, surpassing estimates, with a revenue of $94.04 billion, marking a 9.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company's Board of Directors authorized a $100 billion stock repurchase program, indicating a belief that Apple's shares are undervalued.

Narwhal Capital Management boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 277,333 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 3,264 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 5.5% of Narwhal Capital Management's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Narwhal Capital Management's holdings in Apple were worth $61,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its stake in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC increased its stake 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 worth $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank lowered shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.25.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $0.79 on Tuesday, hitting $204.14. The company had a trading volume of 7,744,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 56,777,820. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $205.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

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.