Bannerman Wealth Management Group LLC Acquires New Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Bannerman Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,344 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $299,000. Apple accounts for about 0.2% of Bannerman Wealth Management Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,235,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,992,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 7,166 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,794,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research reports. China Renaissance assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays set a $173.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Loop Capital cut their price target 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. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $217.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.27.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $211.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The firm's fifty day moving average is $203.39 and its 200-day moving average is $217.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 167.24%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. Apple's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Apple 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.

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