Apple Inc. $AAPL Stake Raised by Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Apple Inc. to make it 2nd largest in their portfolio, now holding 145,763 shares valued at approximately $32.4 million.
• Apple's quarterly earnings exceeded estimates, reporting $1.57 EPS, alongside a revenue of $94.04 billion, marking a 9.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company has authorized a $100 billion stock buyback plan, signaling confidence in its stock valuation, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share.

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,763 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 3,810 shares during the period. Apple comprises 2.9% of Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $32,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $147,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of the company's 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.98.

Apple Stock Down 0.3%

AAPL stock traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $227.16. The stock had a trading volume of 30,957,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,964,760. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $213.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.81. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.