Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Falcon Wealth Planning's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Falcon Wealth Planning increased its holdings in Apple Inc. by 14.7%, owning a total of 272,785 shares valued at approximately $60.6 million.
• In addition to Falcon, several other institutional investors have also modified their Apple holdings, with Vanguard Group increasing its stake by 3.7% to own over 1.39 billion shares.
• Apple's board has approved a substantial $100 billion stock buyback program, indicating confidence in the company's value, alongside a declared quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share.

Falcon Wealth Planning raised its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 272,785 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 34,959 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 6.7% of Falcon Wealth Planning's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Falcon Wealth Planning's holdings in Apple were worth $60,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,868,648,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 25,934.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 60,066,398 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $133,425,490,000 after buying an additional 59,835,676 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,395,785,512 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $349,532,608,000 after buying an additional 49,168,843 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 23,555.4% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,055,240 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $5,272,653,000 after purchasing an additional 20,966,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 13.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of AAPL traded up $2.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $229.74. The company had a trading volume of 41,781,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,888,410. The company's 50 day moving average price is $207.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.86, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. 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 (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The company's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Apple declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.60.

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.