Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Purchased by Journey Strategic Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its stake in Apple Inc. by 1.5% in Q1, bringing its ownership to 853,565 shares, valued at approximately $189.6 million.
• Apple is initiating a significant $100 billion stock buyback program, indicating management's belief that its shares are undervalued.
• The company reported $95.36 billion in revenue for Q1, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a slight increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share.

Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 853,565 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 12,861 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 6.6% of Journey Strategic Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $189,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after acquiring an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $84,999,145,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, June 13th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $234.94.

Apple Trading Down 1.1%

Apple stock traded down $2.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $209.05. The company had a trading volume of 43,674,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,746,808. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $205.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.16. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

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.