CWC Advisors LLC. Raises Stock Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

CWC Advisors LLC. increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 18.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,012 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 4,395 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises about 3.5% of CWC Advisors LLC.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. CWC Advisors LLC.'s holdings in Apple were worth $6,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $232.91. The company had a trading volume of 37,584,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,933,523. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $208.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.35. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10.

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

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.60.

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.