Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Bought by Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC

Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 136.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,866 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after acquiring an additional 2,804 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 0.6% of Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $1,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its position in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after purchasing an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,647 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

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 transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Apple from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.60.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded up $3.95 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $233.60. The company had a trading volume of 55,591,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,968,047. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $207.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.21. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10.

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

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

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.